A 35-year-old Orlando man has been arrested and charged more than three years after a hit-and-run crash killed a 48-year-old driver at one of Central Florida’s most notorious intersections. Zachariah Newkirk was booked into custody on a single felony count of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, tied to a wreck that happened in the pre-dawn hours of August 30, 2023, near Sand Lake Road and South John Young Parkway.
According to WESH, Florida Highway Patrol says the crash occurred just after 3:43 a.m. when a 2010 Nissan Altima was traveling westbound on West Sand Lake Road toward South John Young Parkway in the outside lane. Troopers say Newkirk was driving a 2020 Kia Sedona eastbound on West Sand Lake Road in the outside left-turn lane and allegedly turned left toward northbound South John Young Parkway, putting him in the Altima’s path. The Kia struck the Nissan, sending it off the roadway and into a raised grass median, where it struck a pedestrian traffic control signal, per troopers. The Nissan’s driver, a 48-year-old Orlando man, was pronounced dead at the scene, FHP says.
Newkirk is accused of leaving the scene rather than staying to render aid. Orange County booking records reviewed by MrMugshot show he was officially booked on Thursday and held on a $20,000 bond following his arrest by state troopers. Newkirk has not been convicted, and the charge against him remains an allegation at this stage of the case.
Evidence Left Behind at the Scene
In its initial coverage of the crash back in 2023, WFTV reported that troopers found the suspect’s 2020 Kia Sedona abandoned at the scene after the driver fled on foot, prompting traffic homicide investigators to impound the vehicle for forensic evidence. How investigators ultimately connected Newkirk to that abandoned Kia three years later has not been detailed publicly…