Tarpon Man Caused Fatal Crash and Fled, Deputies Say

An early morning hit-and-run crash at the intersection of U.S. 19 and 298^th Avenue has left a 28-year-old Clearwater woman dead. Deputies say a man from Tarpon Springs is to blame for the crash and has been arrested.

The accident happened around 12:42 a.m. May 16, as the woman was riding her bike north in the outside turn lane of U.S. 19 approaching the intersection with 298^th Avenue, Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Steve Gaskins wrote in an email to media. The woman, Narissa Jo-Ann Robinson, was overtaken by a white 2005 Hyundai four-door car that was also traveling north. The driver of that car struck the woman and then left the scene, Gaskins said.

The woman was ejected into the roadway where she was struck again a short time later by a 2012 Mercedes driven by Shereef Adel Moawad, 49, of Palm Harbor.

The woman was taken to Mease Countryside Hospital where she later died.

Police later found the Hyundai abandoned, and called in the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office’s K-9 Unit to help with a search for the driver. 

The Florida Highway Patrol and Pinellas County deputies arrested the man they say was the driver of the Hyundai, according to WTSP.com. 24-year-old Christopher Jones, of Tarpon Springs was arrested pending the final outcome of the investigation into the crash, according to TBO.com.

Anyone who knows anything about the case is asked to call 813-631-4020.