Police have arrested a suspect who they believe was behind the wheel of a vehicle that struck and killed a University of Central Florida student nearly two years ago.
Joe Patrick Mputu was arrested on Wednesday, January 18, and charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death, according to a press release from the Florida Highway Patrol.
Police say that Mputu was driving a vehicle on East Colonial Drive on March 19, 2021, when he fatally struck 22-year-old Joshua Sanchez. Sanchez was pronounced deceased at the scene.
In the days after the fatal accident, police worked to identify Sanchez, who was without identification when he was killed. Friends and family initially believed that Sanchez had gone missing, until learning a few days later that he was identified as the victim of the hit-and-run.
According to authorities, FHP Traffic Homicide Investigator Eric Sutton collected evidence on the scene and statement from witnesses in the before eventually receiving a tip from the Central Florida Crimeline. That tip helped Sutton identify Mputu as the driver of the vehicle that killed Sanchez.