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Woman speaks out after charges dropped in deadly hit-and-run
A woman who spent nearly two weeks in jail after being wrongly accused in a deadly hit-and-run crash is speaking publicly for the first time, saying the ordeal upended her life and left lasting emotional scars.
ORLANDO, Fla. - A Florida woman who spent nearly two weeks in jail after being wrongly accused in a fatal hit-and-run crash has filed a civil lawsuit against the Florida Highway Patrol and says she wants answers about how the mistake occurred.
Lindsey Isaacs was arrested and charged in connection with a crash that killed Joaquin Deno, Jorge Salinas and Nancy Salinas. Authorities seized her vehicle and, months later, instructed her to surrender on hit-and-run charges.
The accusation
The backstory:
Troopers showed up first at Lindsey Isaacs’ parents house and told them she’d been involved in a fatal crash. Her parents thought she’d been killed.
Eventually, they learned, she was accused of causing the crash.
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The FHP took Lindsey’s car that night.
As the months went on, her stress built. She had to leave her job. And in April, the FHP told her she had to turn herself in – they were arresting her for a hit-and-run that took the lives of Joaquin Deno, Jorge Salinas, and Nancy Salinas.
The arrest
Lindsey says she spent 13 days in survival mode, housed with people accused of horrific crimes. She herself, falsely accused of something horrific.
She says the people were unkind. The cell was cold. The lights were kept on all night – encouraging her head to spin and her worst thoughts to take over.
"I used my Bible as a pillow and I put the blanket over my head to get the light out of my eyes, and I would just literally cry myself to sleep every night," she told FOX 35 Reporter Marie Edinger.
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Her attorney went to the State Attorney’s Office and begged them to take another look at her case.
They dropped the charges, let her go, and then arrested Alisa Montalvo for the crash instead.
The mixup
A judge denied Alisa Montalvo bond, saying the evidence against her is staggering, and her alleged attempts to hide the crime are concerning too.
So how did Lindsey wind up arrested for this?
It’s a burning question – and Lindsey and her attorney say they want answers.
"They disgraced their victims in this case by not doing a proper investigation. And that needs to change," said attorney Patrick McGeehan.
What's next:
Lindsey has filed a civil lawsuit against the FHP. She says if she wins and gets any payments for damages, she wants to set up a fund to help cover legal expenses for other people who’ve been wrongly accused.
Alisa Montalvo’s arraignment is scheduled for June 25.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Florida Highway Patrol and Lindsey Isaacs, in her interview with FOX 35's Marie Edinger.