PORT CHARLOTTE — A 23-year-old skateboard rider was killed after being struck by a car Tuesday night, the Florida Highway Patrol reported Wednesday.
Troopers report that the driver fled the scene before he was found and arrested late Tuesday.
FHP issued a statement about the crash Wednesday morning, along with the announcement that state troopers had arrested 46-year-old Brian Luis Arce in connection with the crash.
According to authorities, Arce was driving south on U.S. 41, north of Main Street, around 9:24 p.m.
A 23-year-old man was riding a skateboard in the bicycle lane.
The car struck the skateboarder, who was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders.
Arce initially stopped and got out of his car, then got back in the vehicle and drove away, the report states.
Law enforcement officers later found Arce in his 2020 Honda Civic at a gas station in Punta Gorda. The Punta Gorda Police Department and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office were credited for assistance in the search.