A 37-year-old Winter Haven man discovered early Wednesday morning that abandoning one’s identification at a crash scene is a particularly ineffective method of evading law enforcement.
The incident began at approximately 1 a.m. at the intersection of U.S. 17 and State Road 540, where a gray 2020 Ford F-150 collided with a large concrete construction barrier.
When a deputy arrived at the scene, the vehicle was present but its driver was not. The fleeing suspect, however, left behind two significant pieces of evidence: a group of construction workers who witnessed him flee on foot into the darkness, and his wallet, left plainly at the scene.
Inside the damaged pickup truck, investigators also discovered an open can of beer and a quantity of methamphetamine.
Armed with the suspect’s name , Curtis Russell Hill , and aware of a nearby treeline, the sheriff’s office deployed a drone rather than conducting a foot pursuit. The aerial surveillance proved effective, as deputies quickly located Hill attempting to conceal himself within dense brush before taking him into custody.
When asked about his decision to flee, Hill stated that he ran out of fear and claimed he was searching for his phone.
Hill was transported from the brush to the Sheriff’s Processing Center, where he faced the following charges: trespassing on a posted construction site, methamphetamine possession, two counts of DUI, resisting without violence, possession of drug paraphernalia, and leaving the scene of a crash.
Deputies also recovered his wallet.
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