Tallahassee police arrest man in fatal hit-and-run with help from witnesses
Tallahassee police arrested a Dothan, Alabama, man in connection with an alleged hit-and-run crash that killed a 70-year-old pedestrian.
Quavon Engram, 22, was arrested Wednesday on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving a death, according to court records. He was booked into the Leon County Detention Facility.
On the night of May 14, Oscar Eugene Ash Jr. was crossing North Monroe Street at John Knox Boulevard when a silver sedan struck him in the inside lane, dragging him under the car, according to the arrest report. Ash was taken to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, where he was pronounced dead.
More: Midtown crash becomes 4th pedestrian death in Tallahassee in about a one month span
A number of witnesses who either saw the crash or were at the scene in the immediate aftermath gave similar accounts of what happened.
“The driver exited the light-colored vehicle,” one witness told police, “and looked at Ash on the ground. The driver walked around in circles before getting back into his vehicle and driving away.”
One of the witnesses followed the suspect vehicle, getting the tag numbers in the process, before returning to the scene and speaking with officers. The witness said the driver “was actively trying to elude him” by speeding well above the posted limit.
Two days after the crash, a deputy with the Houston County Sheriff’s office in Alabama stopped the vehicle, which had been entered into a Florida Department of Law Enforcement database. Engram, who was driving at the time, made no statements about the crash. The car, with Engram’s cellphone inside, was impounded.
The car’s owner, Engram’s girlfriend contacted the Tallahassee Police Department not long after. She told investigators that Engram, who had “open access” to her car, was driving it the day of the crash and that she had no knowledge of where he was at the time.
Engram called TPD himself on May 22 and said he was driving through Tallahassee the day of the crash when he “hit something” in the road.
“Engram said he didn’t see what he hit and when he exited the car to look, he thought it was a dog under his vehicle,” the arrest report says. “Engram added he panicked (unknown reason) and got back into his car and left the area.”
Police asked Engram to come to the station to give an official statement. Engram said he would have to get advice from a lawyer before doing so. A judge signed off on his arrest warrant on June 9.
Data from Engram’s phone showed him in the area of the crash when it occurred. Police also obtained surveillance video from a gas station on North Monroe showing Engram alone inside the car minutes before the crash.
Ash is among four pedestrians who have been struck and killed in Tallahassee over a roughly month-long span. According to his obituary, he grew up in Miami and had worked as a maintenance technician. He was survived by two daughters, seven grandchildren, a sister and two brothers.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com and follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee police arrest man in fatal North Monroe St. hit and run
