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ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Part of Pine Hills Road was shut down for nearly two hours on Friday as Orange County deputies worked to sort out a series of crashes caused by an accused hit-and-run driver.
Investigators say Peter Rex Neal crashed his pick-up truck into a car but kept driving down Pine Hills Road, only to slam into a second car. That crash injured his passenger and a person in the other car. Deputies said Neal's car was undriveable, so he then took off on foot.
"A good Samaritan was nearby, saw what happened, and saw him running on foot ... at which time, the suspect stopped running," said Lt. Parks Duncan with the Orange County Sheriff's Office. "The good Samaritan/victim got out to, as he said to 'have a talk with him,' and the suspect got around to the other side of the vehicle and got into the driver's seat of his [the good Samaritan's] car... shut the door, locked himself in."
Investigators said the good Samaritan, a retired corrections officer, was armed with a weapon and fired a shot at Neal as he attempted to drive away with his car. "The good Samaritan, now victim, fired into the tire of his own vehicle, so it couldn't be driven from the scene, because he knew this guy was going to be dangerous. So then the suspect got out of the car came at the good Samaritan/victim," Lt. Duncan explained.
The victims in the hit-and-run crashes are expected to be okay.