ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - More than a year after a family of four was hurt in a crash in Orange County, Florida, detectives have arrested a man for allegedly staging the crash, known as the "left turn wave-thru."
What is a left turn wave-thru?
Big picture view:
Detectives described the left turn wave-thru as a "well-known and well-used staged crash tactic."
According to the report, the alleged criminal typically stopped at an intersection where there are no traffic signals and motions to let someone make a left turn in front of them. Once the person starts to make the turn, the criminal then speeds up, crashes into the vehicle, and claims the other vehicle ran the stop sign.
What they're saying:
The crash happened on Aug. 16, 2025, at the intersection of Dr. Phillips Boulevard and Forrest Brook Lane, just outside a neighborhood.
FOX 35's Alexus Cleavenger talked with the woman who was inside the vehicle with her husband and their two children.
"This is not a normal accident. Everything was not normal," she said. "Very scary—this was my first car crash ever in my life, also in my husband's life."
She said the family pulled up to the stop sign and stopped. That's when another driver in a Jeep stopped in the middle of the road – later identified as Casimir – and waived them across the street.
"I was stopping at a stop sign, and then there was someone inside a Jeep Wrangler... he was just in the middle of the road," she recalled.
She said Casimir, who had no stop sign, waved her to go.
"It was about like 10 to 12 seconds—'go, no you go,' just with hand signs," she said. "And then I tried to cross the road, and then he just came like with a super-fast speed and he hit our car."
The impact from the crash caused the vehicle's airbags to deploy. Their 8-month-old baby was hit in the head by the airbag, their 6-year-old child's glasses shattered, leaving pieces of glass inside his eye, and the mom broke her arm and hurt her ear.
The charges
What we know:
According to the report, Casimir admitted to detectives that he held up traffic on purpose and crashed into the family's vehicle.
He was arrested and booked into jail on several charges:
- Aggravated battery with a deadly weapon
- Staging/participating in an intentional motor vehicle crash
- Insurance fraud
- Criminal mischief
- Perjury
- Unlawful use of a two-way communication device
A judge granted him a $54,000 bond.
Why you should care:
While staged crashes are often associated with financial schemes, automotive experts stress the physical danger they pose to innocent drivers.
"It's a safety issue because the crashes themselves might be staged, but the collisions are very real and people can get severely hurt," said said Mark Jenkins, spokesman for AAA - The Auto Club Group.
What to Do If You Suspect a Staged Crash
What you can do:
If you ever find yourself involved in a collision that feels suspicious or staged, safety experts recommend taking the following steps:
- Call Law Enforcement: Always get law enforcement to the scene immediately to file an official report.
- Document Everything: Take photos and videos of all vehicles involved, the exact damage, license plates, and the surrounding roadway/intersection.
- Gather Witnesses: Look around for witnesses and collect their names and contact information before they leave.
The Source: This story uses information from the Orange County Sheriff's Office. FOX 35's Alexus Cleavenger also talked with AAA's Mark Jenkins.