Man arrested after DNA evidence links him to deadly hit-and-run crash, police say

COCOA, Fla. — A man suspected in a fatal hit-and-run crash went before a judge Wednesday afternoon.

Jacquiece Witcher was arrested Tuesday in connection with a crash that happened in January along State Road 520 in Cocoa that killed Bruce Calkins.

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Investigators said DNA evidence that was found on Witcher's shirt linked him to the crime.

Cocoa police said Calkins was crossing the street and was struck by a car. Police said the driver slowed down and then kept going. Calkins died at the scene.

Witcher was found the night of the crash and was arrested on suspicious of DUI, but it wasn't until Tuesday that he was arrested on a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

"We were waiting on the forensic evidence. The forensic evidence was his, the suspect driver's shirt that had DNA from the victim," said Yvonne Martinez, of the Cocoa Police Department.

Witcher is being held on $100,000 bail.

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The arrest is a relief for Calkins' family, who are hoping Witcher will be put away for a long time.

"It hurts me that my dad was killed and the guy just left," said Athena Green, Calkins' daughter.

If convicted, Witcher could face up to life in prison.

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