Hillsborough Sheriff Arrests Man For Death Of Clair-Mel Bicyclist

TAMPA, FL – A 25-year-old man has turned himself into the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office in connection with a hit-and-run accident that killed a Clair-Mel bicyclist on Aug. 5.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's detectives are searching for the driver of a 1983 Chevrolet pickup truck that struck and killed a bicyclist early Sunday morning.

Ali Abdelrahim Abu-Shtaiah turned himself in on Friday, Oct. 5, a day after the sheriff's office obtained a warrant for his arrest.

On Aug. 5, between 2 and 4 a.m., a pickup traveling south on 78th Street hit Johnny L. Arrington, 53, while he was riding his 26-inch red Mongoose Element bicycle near the intersection of Eau Claire Circle (see related story).

The driver of the pickup fled the scene, leaving Arrington in the street.

The pickup was later found abandoned in a parking lot at 6805 Adamo Drive with damage consistent with the debris found at the accident scene. The sheriff's office traced the ownership of the truck to Abu-Shtaiah and DNA evidence collected from the truck matched Arrington. Additionally, surveillance video placed the truck in the area at the time of the crash.

Abu-Shtaiah has been charged with leaving the scene of a crash with a death, a first-degree felony.

Image via Hillsborough Sheriff

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