TITUSVILLE, Florida – No charges will be filed against a driver who hit a pedestrian on Cheney Highway (State Road 50) near Hickory Hill Boulevard back in February.
Twenty-year-old Robert Rajah was struck by a 2001 Honda driven by an off-duty Brevard County Sheriff’s Sergeant, James Sellers, 49, of Titusville, Florida, with his wife as a passenger. Rajah was transported to the hospital with serious injuries that he ultimately survived.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office says that investigators determined that Rajah was crossing the roadway approximately 159 feet west of the intersection of Hickory Hill Boulevard. Rajah’s family members believe he was walking home from nearby Sonny’s restaurant where he worked.
When a Titusville police officer and Sellers eventually walked back to where the Honda had pulled over, they discovered it was gone. An officer walked to Seller’s nearby residence and found the Honda and saw that his wife was visibly upset. The officer observed several small cuts and blood on her face.
The reasons given for not charging Sellers were that he remained at the scene, called 911, and was not aware his passenger left with the vehicle until he walked back to check on her.
A blood draw on Sellers, standard for a crash involving serious injury, showed no drugs or alcohol intoxication.
Investigators concluded that the passenger driving the vehicle from the scene did not amount to a law violation because the crash was an accident – not a crime. While unusual, investigators say that there was no hampering or tampering with evidence.
A case review was conducted by the State Attorney’s Office, which concluded that no criminal charges apply in this case.
The lead crash investigator determined that the dark roadway and the pedestrian crossing the four-lane highway not at a crosswalk, was the lead factor in the crash.