Good Samaritan dies in hit-and-run while trying to help teen driver, Florida cops say

A crash involving a 15-year-old driver turned deadly when a good Samaritan stopped to help and was killed by a passing motorist, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

It happened around 6 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11, just east of Lake Wales, and the hit-and-run driver remains at large, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. Lake Wales is about 60 miles east of Tampa.

Investigators say the initial crash happened when a 15-year-old boy driving a Chevrolet Traverse “crossed into the path” of a Dodge pickup driven by Dan Pitisci, 50, of Indian Lake Estates.

The teenager and Pitisci suffered non-life threatening injuries, but a 12-year-girl riding with the teen driver had a critical head injury, officials said.

“Following the first crash, a 34-year-old Melbourne, Florida, man parked his vehicle to assist the injured victims,” the sheriff’s office said.

“At that time, a white 2012 Honda Odyssey van traveling east on SR 60 struck the Dodge pickup truck and caused it to rotate and hit the good Samaritan, causing blunt force trauma to the man. ... The occupant(s) of the Honda Odyssey immediately fled on foot.”

The Melbourne man died at the scene, officials said.

A search was launched for the Honda occupants, but it “has so far been unsuccessful,” officials said.

Documents found in the Honda show “a salvage title was obtained for it in Arizona back in 2022,” officials said.

“We saw two completely different kinds of people on this crash — a brave, concerned man immediately trying to render aid to injured strangers, and a (person) who ran away,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in the release.

“We’re going to do everything we can to find the person responsible. ... We need to know who that white 2012 Honda Odyssey belongs to, or who drove it.”

Florida state law allows juveniles to get a learner’s permit at age 15, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Teens with a learner’s permit are not allowed to drive a vehicle unless they are “accompanied by a licensed driver 21+,” the state says.

This story was originally published September 12, 2023 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Good Samaritan dies in hit-and-run while trying to help teen driver, Florida cops say."