Florida man accused of running over pedestrian, causing severe head injuries, deputies say

Man accused of running over pedestrian on purpose

A Florida man is accused of a September crime in which police allege that he hit a man with his car and then ran the man over multiple times.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - A Florida man is accused of a September crime in which police allege that he hit a man with his car and then ran the man over multiple times.

What we know:

Jerrell Jones, 18, was identified as a suspect in connection to a Sept. 16 incident in which a man was found at the intersection of Silver Star Road and Belco Drive with life-threatening head injuries.

Jerrell Jones, 18, accused of hitting man with car and running over his head multiple times in Orange County.

The injured man was not able to speak with detectives at the time due to his injuries. The man had surgery for a fractured skull and two brain bleeds, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

The man later told detectives he had no recollection of the incident. Medical staff said the man appeared to have an "altered mental status," the affidavit said.

A woman claims she saw the incident

A witness – who was working as an Uber driver at the time of the incident – told investigators she saw the victim walk in between hers and the suspect's vehicle, possibly to ask for money. The suspect turned his vehicle and drove toward the man, knocking him over and driving over his body, the sheriff's office said the witness told them.

The suspect drove forward over the man's head, then reversed over his head, the witness told deputies. The suspect then sped away.

The witness described the suspect's vehicle as a new model silver sedan with tinted windows and a Puerto Rican flag hanging from the rearview window.

Deputies use traffic cameras to identify the car

After viewing footage from a traffic camera in the area, deputies saw a silver Dodge Dart driving in the center lane before making a stop at a parking lot. Two men, one of them being Jones, exited the car to buy something from a local business. Authorities were able to obtain a search warrant for the Dodge.

On Sept. 30, deputies made a traffic stop to conduct a search warrant. Jones was the driver, the arrest affidavit said.

Jones, his girlfriend and another man were in the car during the traffic stop and during the Sept. 16 incident, deputies confirmed.

Authorities questioned Jones about the Sept. 16 incident, in which he said he remembered going to Food Lotto and denied ever seeing the victim or any involvement with hitting his body.

Deputies speak with the passenger

This contradicted a statement from the male passenger, who told deputies they were on their way to McDonald's on Sept. 16 and were at a red light when an unknown person approached his vehicle. The man was yelling and standing in front of the car, the man told deputies. He said he blacked out and didn't remember anything until they got back to Jones' house.

Investigators later searched the passenger's phone – whose searches included "ways to cover up a hit n run," deputies said. Conversations from the time of the incident were also deleted, the affidavit said.

Suspect's girlfriend said it was ‘intentional’

When investigators spoke with Jones' girlfriend, she also told deputies they were on the way to McDonald's when Jones honked his horn at the man several times, then drove his vehicle and the man fell over. She told deputies she thought he "did it" intentionally, the affidavit said. Jones told his girlfriend, "I thought he had something," the girl told deputies. She told deputies Jones backed up to see if he ran over the man then turned the car to the right and drove off.

They never attempted to contact law enforcement about the incident.

In the search warrant, deputies found a black and white Puerto Rican flag in the center console, the affidavit said.