Main: Kevin Hoffman’s overturned Tesla (Orange County Sheriff’s Office). Inset: Hoffman following his arrest by Florida Highway Patrol (FHP).
A 59-year-old man in Florida is accused of killing a 64-year-old woman as she was riding a scooter, allegedly speeding in his Tesla while drunk when he slammed into her last month and fled the scene.
Kevin Alan Hoffman was taken into custody and charged with one count each of driving under the influence causing death, vehicular homicide, and leaving the scene of a crash involving death in connection with the collision that killed Delinda Ronette Heinrich, authorities announced.
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According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Hoffman was traveling about 90 mph in a 45-mph zone when his Tesla slammed into Heinrich’s scooter on July 8. Investigators said Hoffman’s blood alcohol concentration measured 0.212 at the time of the crash — nearly three times Florida’s legal limit of 0.08.
Heinrich was riding her scooter in the right lane when Hoffman’s Tesla struck it from behind shortly before 7:30 p.m. on State Road 16, the Florida Times-Union reported.
After the crash, Hoffman reportedly sped from the scene. As he “continued to flee,” Hoffman lost control of his Tesla and struck a utility pole, flipping the vehicle and seriously injuring himself, Jacksonville, Florida, NBC affiliate WTLV reported. Heinrich died at the scene.
Hoffman was initially hospitalized, then transferred to a rehabilitation facility. He was arrested immediately following his release.
According to the sheriff’s office, Hoffman’s alleged reckless driving was prompted by his attempt to avoid a run-in with a deputy at a Circle K near the spot of the crash.
When a deputy entered the store, an employee notified them about a suspicious person inside a black Tesla, later identified as Hoffman.
“When the deputy walked up to the vehicle to make contact with the subject, the driver exited the parking lot at a high rate of speed,” the sheriff’s office wrote in a Facebook post. “The deputy reported the reckless driver over the radio to nearby units. As the Tesla traveled eastbound on SR 16, it struck an individual on a motorized scooter.”
Court records show Hoffman recently completed probation in a separate case stemming from a March 2025 arrest in which he was originally charged with DUI. He later pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of reckless driving. His probation in that case ended June 1 — about a month before the fatal crash.
Heinrich’s family said they have been waiting for someone to be held responsible for her death.
“I lost my daughter, my friend. I lost a piece of me that I’ll never get back,” the victim’s mother, Betty Moore, told independent Jacksonville station WJXT. “I hope that someone’s held accountable for my daughter’s death because she did not cause any of this.”
Moore also said her daughter was wearing a helmet and obeying the law when she was struck.
The Highway Patrol said the investigation into Heinrich’s death remains ongoing.
It was not immediately clear when Hoffman was scheduled to appear in court.
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