Inset: Quaze Lavarn Simmons (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The corner where Simmons allegedly struck a random man with his vehicle, leaving the victim critically injured (Google Maps).
A 36-year-old man in Florida has been arrested after he allegedly ran over a random 74-year-old man — who was seated in a chair along the road — because he was upset over an argument he had just had with his mother.
Quaze Lavarn Simmons was taken into custody over the weekend and charged with one count of attempted murder over the ordeal.
According to a news release from the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, deputies at about 10:42 a.m. on Sunday responded to a 911 call about a man “seated in a chair” who had just been struck by a vehicle near the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Josephine Street in South Brooksville, which is about 45 miles north of Tampa.
The caller said that after hitting the man in the chair, the driver of the vehicle fled the scene, running into the nearby woods.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they located the suspect’s vehicle, a gold Toyota Corolla LE, still at the scene. The car was unoccupied and parked on the sidewalk of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The victim, identified only as a 74-year-old man from Brooksville, suffered “severe injuries to both legs” as well as significant head trauma. Due to the severity of his condition, he was airlifted to a trauma hospital for emergency treatment.
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Investigators soon learned the identity of the vehicle’s owner and contacted her. The owner told authorities that she owned the car, but said her son — whom she identified as Simmons — also drove the vehicle regularly.
After identifying Simmons as the suspected driver, deputies conducted a search of the immediate area. However, a short while later, authorities said Simmons “emerged from the woods” just south of the crash.
“Simmons appeared wet, covered in dirt and debris, and was detained without incident,” the release states. “During the detention, Simmons spontaneously stated he was ‘scared.'”
In an interview with investigators, Simmons gave conflicting stories about the cause of the collision.
“Simmons initially told detectives he lost control of the vehicle and ran in fear of his mother’s reaction to the crash,” the sheriff’s office said. “However, video surveillance obtained in the area revealed Simmons accelerated across traffic lanes directly toward the victim. At no time were the vehicle’s brake lights observed, nor was there any evidence of the driver losing control.”
When confronted with the contradictory video evidence, Simmons allegedly admitted that his running down of the victim was “intentional.”
“He told detectives he had been upset after an argument with his mother over money and chose to strike the victim because he was ‘just there.'”
Simmons was placed under arrest and transported to the Hernando County Detention Center, where he is currently being held in lieu of $250,000 bond, records show.
