A 21-year-old Florida woman is behind bars after police say she ran over and killed a man who had just pulled her stuck pickup truck out of a muddy ditch.
Julia Blackwell faces a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death following the May 16 incident that claimed the life of 59-year-old Ronald Bear.
According to a criminal complaint, Blackwell was out with friends early that morning when her silver pickup truck became trapped in the mud off the side of a highway. She called Bear for assistance, who arrived shortly after with two of his relatives to help free the vehicle.
Investigators say a relative of Bear watched him hook up a tow strap from Blackwell’s stuck silver truck to a nearby black pickup truck. The black truck successfully pulled Blackwell out of the ditch. However, as Bear went to unhook the tow strap, Blackwell allegedly hit the gas, knocking Bear to the ground.
A witness told police that while Bear was still down, Blackwell backed over him. She then drove a short distance before getting stuck in the mud a second time.
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Another witness who was with Blackwell reported hearing her passenger scream, “You killed him.” According to police records, Blackwell then abandoned her silver truck—with the tow strap still attached to the front bumper—and fled the scene inside the black pickup truck with her passenger driving.
Blackwell went to her mother’s home and later agreed to speak with investigators. She told police she believed her truck was still stuck in the mud when she heard a “banging sound.” Thinking someone was in front of her vehicle, she shifted into reverse, which is when she reported hearing Bear yelling from the ground.
First responders arrived at the scene just before 6:00 a.m., roughly half an hour after medical personnel had pronounced Bear dead.
Bear’s family remembers him as someone who never hesitated to assist others. “He was always willing to help people,” his family told WKMG. They added that they hope prosecutors will file additional charges in the case.
Blackwell is currently being held at the Orange County Jail on a $15,000 bond. Her upcoming court schedule has not yet been released.
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