Man arrested for hitting, injuring someone – leaving the scene

Islamorada – A Key Largo man has been arrested for hitting a man with the side mirror of his truck causing severe injuries; he then left the scene of the accident without reporting it to anyone.

According to Detective Patrick Crozier, 22 year old Corey Gaddys was leaving the Full Moon Party at Morada Bay in Islamorada on April 7^th in the early morning hours when he hit 21 year old Storm Mendez with the side view mirror of his truck. He then left the scene, leaving Mendez laying on the ground with severe injuries to his face and head.

Mendez’ friends found him at 3:30 a.m. He was transported to Mariner’s Hospital for treatment, then transferred to South Miami Hospital. His father called to report the incident later in the morning, relating the events to Deputy Todd Wyatt.

Once the victim was at the hospital, he was questioned by staff and by a deputy working a detail at the hospital; he  had no memory of what happened to him. His friends said they were at the party and lost track of Storm. They said they never saw him get into any fights or have any problems that night. He sustained a head injury, and fractures of his nose and the orbit of his right eye.

As he investigated the incident, Detective Crozier received several anonymous tips indicating Mendez had been hit by the side view mirror of a blue Chevrolet 1500 pickup truck and that a man named Travis Sebastian was a passenger in the truck at the time. The detective made contact with Sebastian, who said he was drunk that night, but remembered the truck hitting a man with brown hair. He identified the driver at the time of the accident as Gaddys.

Detective Crozier interviewed Gaddys and examined his truck. He found dents and damage to the truck indicating it had hit something or someone. Gaddys admitted to hitting someone that night. He said he left the scene because he didn’t want to get into a fight. He could not give a reason why he didn’t report the incident later.

Gaddys was arrested Friday, charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and he was booked into jail.