Hit-And-Run Driver Arrested After Bicyclist Critically Injured

CLEARWATER, FL — A 33-year-old Largo man faces criminal charges following a Tuesday night crash that left a bicyclist in critical condition. According to the Clearwater Police Department, Benito Espanol-Cruz was brought into custody Wednesday evening.

The incident that led to Espanol-Cruz’s arrest unfolded around 9:43 p.m. May 30. Police say a pickup truck was heading eastbound on Cleveland Street as Joseph Samson, 34, of Dunedin was riding between Betty Lane and Fredrica Avenue. The driver hit Samson and then took off from the scene, the police department said.

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Espanol-Cruz was identified as a possible suspect in the hit-and-run after police spoke with witnesses and pulled surveillance video from the scene, a Thursday email from the agency said. Police say Espanol-Cruz “admitted he was the driver of the 1999 Ford F150 that struck Joseph Samson.”

The truck was found at Espanol-Cruz’s place of employment, the agency said. It was covered and concealed behind other work vehicle, the email added.

Police also say Espanol-Cruz admitted “he had been consuming alcohol before the crash.”

Espanol-Cruz was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on a count of leaving the scene of a crash involving injury. He was later released in lieu of $5,000 bond, jail records indicate.

Samson was last listed in critical condition at a local hospital, the police department said.

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Booking photo courtesy of the Clearwater Police Department