A Florida woman is accused of hitting a man riding a scooter and then fleeing the scene, driving to the dealership where she worked in an effort to get the car repaired without authorities finding out.
Keila Isabel Maldonado, 21, is charged with failing to stop at the scene of an accident involving death and tampering with evidence.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, deputies with the Broward County Sheriff’s Office responded around 1:30 a.m. Saturday to a hit-and-run crash involving a pedestrian on Sheridan Street near the intersection of SE 2nd Avenue in Dania Beach. The victim, who was not identified, died.
Investigators recovered debris at the scene from a late-model Hyundai Sonata. Later that day, a security manager from Lexus of North Miami called police to report a possible suspect and vehicle connected to the crash. The manager told investigators that Maldonado, an employee, had brought a 2025 Sonata into the dealership to ask about possible repairs, the affidavit stated.
The Sonata had damage to the passenger-side front bumper and windshield. Detectives also noted there appeared to be “blood and human tissue” on the car.
Maldonado allegedly told co-workers that she was driving the Sonata when she slammed into a scooter rider. Rather than calling 911, she pulled into a nearby shopping plaza and watched as paramedics and cops arrived to treat the victim, deputies wrote.
During an interview after she was read her Miranda rights, Maldonado told investigators she sat in the parking lot for an hour but never identified herself as the driver, according to the affidavit.
She reportedly said she took the car, which was used as a rental, from the dealership without permission to spend the day at the beach near Hollywood. She allegedly decided to leave around 1 a.m. Maldonado admitted to striking the person on the scooter and not calling 911 or speaking with police, the affidavit said.
Investigators allegedly determined the damage to the vehicle was consistent with the debris recovered at the scene. Maldonado was arrested and taken to the Broward County Jail, where she is being held on a $51,000 bond. Her next court date was not immediately listed.