Troopers said a fleeing driver struck two people and a dog on a median before abandoning the vehicle nearby.
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A woman remained hospitalized in stable but critical condition Friday after a hit-and-run crash on Lee Road killed a man in a wheelchair and a dog, according to Florida Highway Patrol, which said the driver fled and left the car behind.
While the man’s death made the crash a fatal case, the woman’s survival left investigators and relatives facing a second urgent question: whether the person who drove away can be identified before more evidence fades. Troopers said the crash happened just before 9 p.m. Thursday near Adanson Street, when a 2021 Lexus ES went off the roadway and struck the group on a raised median.
Troopers said the victims were on the center median when the eastbound Lexus veered out of its lane and climbed the curb. The car struck the man in the wheelchair, the woman and the dog in a single sequence that investigators were still reconstructing Friday. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The dog also died there. The woman was taken to a hospital, where troopers later described her condition as stable but critical. After the impact, the Lexus did not stop. Investigators said it continued east on Lee Road, turning the crash from a traffic fatality into a search for a fleeing driver.
The crash reached beyond the victims on the median. Troopers said debris from the wheelchair flew into a pickup truck stopped in the westbound left-turn lane. The pickup driver, identified in local coverage as a 20-year-old Orlando man, was not injured and stayed at the scene. That detail gave investigators another driver to interview and another vehicle to inspect for timing and impact clues. By Friday, troopers said they had recovered the Lexus in a nearby parking lot. The car was unoccupied, and investigators said the damage matched the collision. Still unanswered were basic questions that often shape the next stage of a hit-and-run case: who had possession of the car, whether anyone else was inside, and how far the driver traveled before abandoning it.
The scene on Lee Road reflects a type of roadside danger that can become deadly in seconds. Raised medians are meant to divide traffic and guide turns, but they can also leave little protection for anyone standing there when a vehicle leaves its lane. In this case, troopers said the victims were not in a moving car or crossing through active traffic at the moment of impact; they were on the median when the Lexus ran off the road. That made the crash especially stark. Local reports also said the man who died used a wheelchair, a fact that explains why investigators paid close attention to the debris field after the collision. Troopers have not said what caused the Lexus to leave the roadway or whether speed, distraction, impairment or another factor played a role.
What happens next will likely unfold in steps rather than one announcement. Troopers said Friday they were still trying to identify both the victims and the driver. Once the driver is identified, investigators would be expected to compare witness statements, physical evidence from the car, and any nearby camera footage before recommending charges. Because the crash involved a death, a critically injured survivor and a driver who left the scene, the case carries potentially severe consequences. But as of Friday, no arrest had been announced and no charging document had been made public. The woman’s medical condition could also matter later, because the extent of her injuries may affect how prosecutors frame the case if a suspect is found.
Even with limited public details, the case has the shape of a long day after a sudden night of violence: a busy road, a crashed sedan left empty, a dead man awaiting identification, a hospitalized woman, and troopers trying to reconstruct who was behind the wheel. Officials asked for tips from anyone who may have seen the Lexus before or after the collision. That appeal suggests investigators believe someone in the area may know more than what has been released so far. Until then, the public account remains narrow and painful: a man and a dog died on the median, a woman survived with critical injuries, and the driver was gone by the time help arrived.
By late Friday, troopers were still asking for information and had not publicly named a suspect. The next major development is expected to be either the identification of the driver or the release of the victims’ names after family notifications are completed.
Author note: Last updated March 20, 2026.