A woman has been charged after leaving a man dead in a hit-and-run in Dania Beach, Florida. According to detectives, the 21-year-old allegedly failed to aid the victim at the scene and drove off, observing the accident from a distance for an hour without alerting law enforcement. She then attempted to tamper with the evidence by getting the vehicle fixed at the dealership that she worked at.
21-year-old allegedly tried to get her rental car repaired
On October 17 at 1:32 a.m., 21-year-old Keila Maldonado was arrested after striking a man, whose identity has not been released due to Florida’s Marsy’s Law, and leaving him for dead, according to a statement by the Broward Sheriff’s Office and a report by NBC Miami. She has been charged with one count of tampering with evidence and one count of failing to stop and remain at an accident involving death.
Detectives say that the hit-and-run took place near the 200 block of Sheridan Street near North Federal Highway and that the victim was crossing the westbound lanes of the street when he was struck by a 2024-2026 Hyundai Sonata. Along with fire rescue crews, BSO deputies arrived on the scene of the hit-and-run and located an adult male in the roadway. The victim was pronounced dead.
Maldonado had failed to remain at the scene of the accident and had fled in an unknown direction when law enforcement arrived. However, detectives were able to identify the vehicle based on the vehicular debris that was left on the road upon impact with the victim.
Detectives then received information that the suspect’s vehicle had been located at the Lexus of North Miami dealership in North Miami Beach, where Maldonado is an employee of the business.
The arrest report indicates that the vehicle had been a rental from the dealership. Detectives learned that Maldonado had told another employee to provide her with a repair estimate on the Hyundai. The employee inspected the damage on the vehicle, but realized that the damage was not caused by a collision with another vehicle. He asked Maldonado about what occurred, and she told him that she had struck someone and left.
Upon learning this, the employee told the manager, who then spoke with Maldonado and asked for the key to the vehicle. The manager said Maldonado left the dealership but returned after being called in.
When investigators arrived at the dealership, they met the manager and secured the suspect’s vehicle at the parking garage. According to NBC Miami, they inspected the Hyundai and found “blood and human tissue on it.”
Detectives then interviewed Maldonado, who admitted to taking the Hyundai from the dealership without letting them know. She had taken the vehicle out the day before the incident and had gone to the beach in Hollywood. But when she returned, she said that had struck a person on a scooter on a roadway, though she was uncertain on what street the accident had occurred.
Maldonado said she did not stop to render aid to the victim and instead parked at a nearby shopping plaza, observing police and emergency vehicles arrive at the scene to treat the man. She stayed at the plaza for an hour without contacting law enforcement before she left.
Detectives told the 21-year-old that she could be taken into custody by Broward County or the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office once the arrest warrant was complete and then be extradited to Broward. Maldonado chose the former option and was arrested. She was transported to the BSO Main Jail.
Maldonado appeared in court on Sunday, October 18, where a judge set her bond at $51,000.
Under Florida law, leaving the scene of a fatal accident is a first-degree felony. It carries a mandatory minimum sentence of four years in prison and a maximum of 30 years, along with a fine of up to $10,000 and a driver’s license suspension for at least three years.
