ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A 34-year-old Winter Springs man was arrested Tuesday in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that happened in 2014, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Jessie Dibartolo is accused of hitting bicyclist John Sill on Sand Lake Road and leaving the scene, troopers said.
For two years, Sill’s sister, Leslie Varhol, has been waiting for someone to be charged in her brother’s death.
“I feel like if I had not been pursuing it for John, maybe nothing would’ve ever happened out of it, and it’s my responsibility to make sure he has justice,” she said.
Dibartolo was also accused of being drunk when he hit Sill, an Army veteran, early on Thanksgiving morning.
After Dibartolo allegedly fled the scene, Sill was hit by a second vehicle, which also left the scene of the crash, troopers said.
“His body was so badly damaged that I wasn’t even able to identify him,” Varhol said. “We were not able to have an open casket (funeral).”
Troopers said Dibartolo pulled over a short distance later and returned to the scene of the crash about 15 minutes later.
Part of the delay in arresting the man was due to the fact that investigators had to build a case against him because he admitted leaving the scene but claimed he never saw Sill until he returned.
“I know we’re supposed to forgive, but it’s really, really hard. It’s truly hard,” Varhol said. “John would want me to forgive, but I don’t know that I can. I haven’t been able to so far.”
Cox Media Group
