OKEECHOBEE — After a traffic crash, a sod truck reportedly left the scene and almost struck another vehicle before finally coming to a stop. On March 22 at approximately 2 p.m., Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Cauley responded to the area of Southwest 16th Street and Southwest 48th Avenue in reference to a traffic accident. While en route, he was advised a sod truck that had been involved in the accident was seen leaving the scene, heading east and had almost hit another vehicle. A witness to the crash was following the truck and providing the information to dispatch.

Approximately three and a half miles from the site of the accident, Deputy Cauley observed the truck in the grassy area next to the roadway attempting to go around traffic stopped at the intersection. He pulled up next to the truck and ordered the driver to exit the vehicle.

The 42-year-old driver from Loxahatchee, who is not being named because his charge was a misdemeanor, was charged with leaving the scene of a traffic crash involving property damage and was transported to the county jail. The semi-truck and trailer were towed.

Deputy Cauley met with the driver of the other vehicle at Raulerson Hospital and she stated she had been attempting to make a turn onto Southwest 48th Avenue from Southwest 16th Street when she was struck on the driver side of her car by the trailer tire of the sod truck. While she was calling 911, she observed the truck leave the scene. She and her two children were in her 2018 Hyundai at the time of the accident. The report notes, she was not transported to the hospital by EMS but rather got to the hospital on her own.