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Driver Finally Charged in Fatal Hit and Run on Hinson Avenue

October 21, 2010 - Haines City, FL - An arrest has been made in the October 20^th hit and run crash that killed Jacquelin Adele Sleight, 31, as she left one of her patient's homes.

WTSP.com 10News reports that Polk County Sheriff's deputies have arrested William Ted Denham, 61, on charges of leaving the scene of a traffic accident resulting in death. The hit and run accident occurred on Wednesday on Hinson Avenue near 30^th St. and Joel Massey Rd. Sleight, who is a home health care provider, was leaving the residence of one of her patients when she was struck by a vehicle which was later identified as belonging to Denham.

Polk County deputies had put out a call to anyone with information on a mid-2000 model year light colored Ford Ranger or Mazda B2200 pickup truck with damage to the passenger side headlight and side mirror. By the end of the day they had received a tip that Denham may be the driver in question.

Thursday morning deputies were enroute to follow up on the tip when they spotted a vehicle fitting the suspect's description. Upon pulling over the damaged white 2001 Ford Ranger the officers found Denham's younger brother behind the wheel. Robert Denham told the officers his brother had claimed he hit a deer and asked that he take the truck in for repair.

William Denham was later arrested and questioned on the hit and run accident, to which he confessed to committing. He confirmed he hit Sleight, a mother of 3, while he was driving to work and then left the scene. A passerby was the one who spotted Sleight laying in the road following the accident and called for help.

According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles' 2009 Traffic Crash Statistics Report, there were 197,214 traffic crashes resulting in injury and 2,563 fatalities as a result of vehicle accidents in Florida.

As a service to the residents of St. Petersburg, our firm will frequently publish blogs about local traffic accidents. We do this to raise awareness about the common types of motor vehicle accidents that occur in Florida that may result in serious injury or traffic fatalities.

If you have been named in this blog or you are the victim's family member or friend and would like the blog removed from our website, please feel free to contact us and we will promptly accommodate your request.

Contacting a St. Petersburg Car Accident Lawyer

Hit and run accidents are a difficult type of personal injury or wrongful death case due to the lack of a responsible party to file the claim against. In many of these cases, your settlement for your damages and losses may come from your own insurance company, which will try to settle your claim for as little as possible.

To help avoid being shorted by inadequate settlements or unfair claim processes you should contact a St. Petersburg car accident lawyer to help you with filing and settling your injury claim. The Law Offices of William K. Saron serve the St. Petersburg and surrounding areas for their personal injury cases, contact us today for help with your claim - 727-345-4566 or 866-836-4947.

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