ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — There isn’t a day that goes by when Paul Kimbro doesn’t think about the night of Aug. 1, 2003, when his life was forever changed in a traffic crash.
Kimbro was working construction on State Road 417 when he and two other workers were hit by a car driven by Carey Price, Florida Highway Patrol troopers said.
Kimbro, 44, was thrown against a concrete barrier and was critically injured. Charles Starrett, 43, also received critical injuries.
Price had a blood alcohol level of 0.201 percent the night of the crash, troopers said.
Grady Hill, 42, was killed.
When Kimbro woke up after the crash, he only had one thought: “I was glad to be alive,” he said.
He received serious head trauma in the crash, which has prevented him from working or performing everyday tasks, like driving.
Price was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide but fled the country shortly after bonding out of jail, investigators said.
Troopers, U.S. marshals, the Orange County Fugitive Task Force and other state and federal agencies had been searching for Price for more than 12 years. His story was featured on "America’s Most Wanted" and numerous tips have come in over the years.
Hill’s sister, Peggy Jandrew, told Channel 9 that when someone messaged her on Facebook with Price’s whereabouts, she did not believe it until the tipster sent a picture of Price.
The tipster told her that Price changed his name to Jay Rice.
Jandrew was able to identify Price in the picture.
“My heart was beating out of my chest, (learning) that Carey Carl Price has been captured,” said Jandrew.
Price was captured Sunday in the Dominican Republic, and by Wednesday he was back in the U.S., troopers said.
A supervisor of the task force that apprehended Price said Price was in the country illegally, but they don’t know how long or where he was living.
U.S. marshals said Price admitted he was their guy when confronted.
Price was taken to Atlanta because of a flight issue and appeared before a judge in Clayton County on Thursday.
Orange County deputies will help FHP bring Price back, but they haven’t said when that will happen.
Kimbro didn’t know what he would say to Price if he saw him now. It probably wouldn’t be friendly, he said.
“I would be too upset,” he said. “If I said anything to him, I would be mad.”