Police Continue Search For Florida Man Responsible for Daycare Hit and Run

A Florida man driving an SUV hit a Toyota, sending the Toyota crashing into a daycare center and killing a little girl and injuring 15 others, “some of them grievously,” The New York Times reported Wednesday. Suspect Robert Corchado, 28, fled the scene and abandoned the offending vehicle, a Dodge Durango, in front of a house. Police are still looking for him. There is a warrant out for Corchado’s arrest.

The girl died on Tuesday in Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando, CNN reports. At least 12 people hurt in the crash have been identified as children; two teenagers and one adult were also hospitalized with critical injuries, The New York Times and Fox News add.

“What I saw, I can’t take the picture out of my mind,” repairman Ronny Avellan, who witnessed the wreck, told The New York Times. “It was chaos everywhere. The vehicle was inside the day care, almost in the middle, and there were kids everywhere, on tables and running around. I saw one of the teachers giving CPR to a child.”

The Toyota Solara crashed into the daycare — with 50 people inside — on April 9 at 3 p.m.

This is not Chorchado’s first offense. The Winter Park native is a convicted felon. He previously served two years in prison for selling cocaine. “In December, he was arrested in nearby Seminole County and charged with possession and intent to sell cocaine, heroin, and marijuana and for crashing and leaving the scene of the accident, according to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. He was released from jail on bail,”The New York Times continues.

The daycare center will provide an alternate location for children in the days to come while police continue the investigation.