A New York man has been arrested after being tracked down by the Florida Highway Patrol in connection with a hit-and-run crash at the Sumter County Fairgrounds.
A woman called 911 after her vehicle was struck at about 10 p.m. Monday night by a white van with a scooter on back that was pulling out of the Sumter County Fairgrounds in Bushnell, according to an arrest report from FHP. Initially, the drivers agreed to meet at the nearby Circle K gas station, but the van instead drove away.
A trooper went to the fairgrounds and was able to obtain a cell phone number for Shawn D. Simpson, 44, of Jamestown, N.Y. He called the number and arranged to meet Simpson back at the fairgrounds, but Simpson did not show up.
The trooper was able to find Simpson’s van at State Road 50 and County Road 721. When interviewed, Simpson confessed that he had left the scene of the accident because he did not want to get in trouble for his New York vehicle inspection being expired, the report indicated.
He was arrested on a charge of hit and run and booked at the Sumter County Detention Center.
