FHP says hit-and-run driver arrested after fleeing I-75 crash

LEE COUNTY, Fla. — A 22-year-old man is charged after leaving the scene of a crash on I-75 in Lee County that seriously injured someone, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

FHP said Lucas James Ward was charged with leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury and two counts of tampering with evidence following the Monday night crash near the Daniels Parkway exit. The crash happened at 9:07 p.m. on Sept. 1 at Mile Marker 131 on southbound I-75, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

FHP said a 24-year-old Bonita Springs man was trying to get out of his disabled Kia Sorento, which was stopped on the right shoulder, when Ward's Dodge Ram pickup truck struck the driver's side door. The Kia driver has serious injuries and was transported to Gulf Coast Medical Center, troopers said.

Ward fled the scene immediately after the crash, FHP reported.

However, a witness walking a dog later found evidence in a wooded area off Three Oaks Parkway and alerted law enforcement, according to FHP. Investigators then found Ward's pickup truck, which had significant right-side damage, in a nearby apartment complex parking lot at 17171 Three Oaks Parkway. Troopers noted the vehicle appeared to have been wiped down. They found Ward at the same apartment complex and arrested him.

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