Seffner man arrested after fleeing on foot from fatal crash, troopers say
TAMPA — A 26-year-old Seffner man surrendered to authorities Sunday after fleeing on foot from a fatal two-car crash on the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Miguel Matias Usher was headed east in a pickup truck on the Selmon near the 78th Street interchange about 5 a.m. Sunday when he changed lanes and collided with a car in front of him, the Highway Patrol said. The front right of the pickup hit the left rear of the car, causing both vehicles to spin onto the outside shoulder of the expressway.
The driver of the car, a 36-year-old Citra man, suffered fatal injuries. He was not wearing a seatbelt. A 33-year-old Brandon woman riding in the car received critical injuries. She was wearing a seatbelt.
The Highway Patrol did not identify the two victims because of its interpretation of Marsy’s Law, a voter-approved amendment to the state Constitution that was meant to protect crime victims but that deprives the public of information long available under Florida’s public records law.
Usher, bleeding from a cut on his forehead, fled on foot from the scene — an industrial area between the Palm River and the U.S. 301 interchange to the east.
He surrendered early Sunday afternoon and was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury.
Usher, who listed his occupation as manager of a car dealership, was being held in lieu of $15,500 bond at the Hillsborough County Jail.
