Florida Highway Patrol investigators say the driver who fled the scene from a two-car accident last month has not yet been identified. But that may soon change. FHP Trooper H.E. Dulin said he expects to file charges after taking a few more witness statements.
FHP has been investigating the incident, which occurred at 8:15 a.m. on Oct. 17, when the unidentified driver of a 2019 Ford Explorer traveling Southbound on S. Tropical Trail, attempted to illegally pass a 2002 Toyota Tundra driven by Justin Neil Kennard, 36, of Cocoa, at high speed, about a mile north of Mathers Bridge.
According to the accident report, the right side of the Ford struck the Toyota causing Kennard to lose control and travel off the road, where the vehicle ran over a large rock and struck a tree, leaving Kennard and his passenger, Franc Justin Lee, 26 of Cocoa, with minor injuries.
The impact also sent the Ford into a concrete barrier wall where it then continued in a southerly direction – eventually striking a utility pole, a fire hydrant and a fence. According to FHP Lieutenant Kim Montes, the vehicle was a rental and witnesses reported seeing two men exit it and flee on foot, but the case is not considered a hit-and-run.
“We have been unable to identify them. Under Florida law, passengers are not required to stay at a traffic crash, only drivers,” Montes said. “This is not a hit-and-run, but troopers need someone to be able to identify the driver in court. That is what the investigating trooper is still working on.”
Rochelle Dis-Ja Williams, 27, of Titusville, a passenger in the Ford, remained at the scene with minor injuries, but refused to identify the driver.
Williams has a lengthy arrest record dating back seven years for issues primarily involving drugs and criminal traffic offenses. Her most recent arrest was in August 2018, for fleeing and attempting to elude a law enforcement officer and driving with a canceled license.
She was convicted of those charges and served about five months in Brevard County Jail until her release this past July.
“I have interviewed several witnesses in the past weeks and discovered none of the witnesses that gave their names at the scene could place the driver behind the wheel,” Dulin said.
“The only person that can identify the driver behind the wheel is the passenger in the vehicle and she stated, ‘I will not testify,’ and would retract her memory.”
Although there was a report of possible guns at the scene, Dulin said there were no guns found by the Brevard County Sheriff Department in the area, or on the Pineda Causeway.
FHP says the case is still under investigation and charges are pending.
