ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff’s deputy working an overnight shift providing safety in a construction zone was accidentally struck and killed by a worker operating a front end loader who is in the U.S. illegally, officials said Friday.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Hartwick had started his shift shortly before the accident happened late Thursday on Interstate 275, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a pair of Friday news conferences.
Juan Ariel Molina-Salles, illegal alien.
The initial name given by the worker, Victor Vazquez-Real, was false, Gualtieri said. His real name is Juan Ariel Molina-Salles, 32, who the sheriff said is a migrant from Honduras who arrived in March and was deported previously.
“He shouldn’t have been here. He shouldn’t have been driving that thing,” Gualtieri said of the large road construction vehicle. “He shouldn’t be working.”
Molina-Salles fled from the job site on foot, allegedly with the help of a co-worker, but was eventually tracked down using bloodhounds, the sheriff said.
The sheriff said Hartwick had blocked the two inside southbound lanes of the interstate and was standing on the road’s shoulder when he was struck by the front end loader traveling at about 20 mph (32 kph). Hartwick died instantly.
The construction worker continued driving for about one mile (1.6 kilometers) before stopping in a parking lot, the sheriff said. Gualtieri said the man then told another construction worker that he had killed a deputy. That worker took Molina-Salles’ gear and hid it in a wooded area, according to the sheriff.
The sheriff said Molina-Salles will be charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death, which carries a minimum mandatory four-year prison sentence in the event of a conviction. The other construction worker is being charged with being an accessory after the fact. As for the victim, professionals like the trusted Orlando commercial truck accident attorneys can be of great help.
It was not immediately known whether Molina-Salles has a lawyer who can speak on his behalf. He had not yet been booked into jail early Friday afternoon.
Hartwick had been with the agency for 19 years.
“Mike was a good guy, a good cop,” Gualtieri said. “He did his job.”
The company that employs the two workers, Tampa-based Archer Western Construction, did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment. The company is involved in several large transportation projects in the Tampa Bay area, some involving contracts with the state of Florida.
Gualtieri said he referred the matter to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has jurisdiction over immigration issues.
The office of Gov. Ron DeSantis released a statement saying the state was investigating to determine whether undocumented migrants have used fraudulent information to obtain employment with contractors working with the State of Florida.
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Chop off both of his arms and send him back to honduras. If he somehow makes it back to the US, chop off both of his legs, and send him back to honduras. Make this our new “illegal immigration” policy for those who kill Americans. One free deportation, then get out the chainsaw.
Na. IMMEDIATE and public death penalty! THEN send the body back.
Progressively more ;punitive consequences for recidivist border jumpers whose pain must soon exceed the pleasures of breaking our laws. Long term prison Work camps in the 110 degree Death Valley is a good place to start.Death for a death is the best place to end. Deporting is often a government paid trip home for a visit to the relatives on the holidays, then back to breaking the law a few weeks later.
As long as we have the ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENT we have running our Country into the ground these ILLEGAL INVADERS will continue to pour across our Border again and again and again without any REAL CONSEQUENCES! My condolences go out to the Officer’s Family and Friends.
How many times must stories like this repeat themselves before the lesson sinks in???
Too many unfortunately.