A 55-year-old Orlando man has been arrested, nearly a year after a vehicle he was allegedly driving fatally struck a pedestrian along Curry Ford Road in Orange County.
On Monday, the Florida Highway Patrol arrested a man, identified as Rafael Rivera, on the following charges: hit-and-run involving death and tampering with evidence. He was transported to Orange County Jail.
Rivera’s arrest is in connection to a fatal crash that occurred on May 9, 2024, near the intersection of Curry Ford Road and Colton Drive. At around 11:30 p.m. that night, Rivera was driving a Mitsubishi Galant when he allegedly struck a pedestrian who was walking in the grass shoulder along Curry Ford Road, just north of the sidewalk, according to FHP.
The pedestrian was identified as 28-year-old Jonnier Agosto Cortes.
After the collision, Rivera’s vehicle fled eastbound on Curry Ford Road before turning onto Goldenrod Road and entering the parking lot of a nearby Walgreens, according to FHP.
After parking the vehicle, Rivera allegedly exited the driver’s door and checked on the damage that the vehicle had sustained. FHP stated that he then re-entered the vehicle and left the parking lot in an unknown direction.
The pedestrian, Cortes, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
A traffic homicide investigation was launched by FHP, and investigators used witness statements and video surveillance footage to identify the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run crash as a Mitsubishi Galant.
The investigation eventually led FHP to identifying Rivera as the driver of the Mitsubishi believed to be involved in the hit-and-run crash.