An 88-year-old Wildwood man has died of injuries suffered in a hit-and-run accident in August on Interstate 75 in Sumter County.
Theodore Chalifoux died on New Year’s Day, said his daughter, Jacqueline Chalifoux.
He had recently returned to the hospital after being cared for by his daughter at her home in Lady Lake.
Her father, who had resided in Parkwood Oaks in Wildwood, suffered a broken neck and numerous broken bones in the accident.
The vehicle that struck the elderly man’s vehicle at the U.S. 301 exit on I-75 kept going, leaving the injured man in the wreckage.
Natem James Stonic, 31, of Fruitland Park, had reported that his vehicle had been damaged Aug. 4 in a hit-and-run accident. He filed a claim with his insurance company, USAA. However, Stonic had provided conflicting information, according to an an arrest report from Florida Highway Patrol.
Stonic’s vehicle is believed to be the vehicle which struck Chalifoux’s vehicle and left the scene.
Stonic is facing a charge of insurance fraud. A charge of tampering with evidence has been dropped by the prosecutor’s office. You can read more about that decision HERE
Stonic remains free on bond.