Police: Man who led them on chase in stolen truck was also driver in fatal hit-and-run

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — Titusville police said the man who led them on a high speed chase is the same one who hit a motorcyclist and left him to die.

Police said Thomas Schaffer was behind the wheel in the fatal hit-and-run and the high speed chase that started in Port St. John.

Ralston Wells, 56, was killed on U.S. 1 near the entrance to Kennedy Point Park.

Police believe Schaffer dumped the car from the hit-and-run and stole the truck that police chased through the city.

The car in the hit-and-run was parked on the side of the road and hit Wells as it was backing out, police said.

Later on, police said Schaffer stole a pickup truck that drove through the hit-and-run scene.

The Sheriff’s Office’s aviation unit captured the truck ramming two patrol cars and taking off.

Eventually, stop sticks slowed down the vehicle and Schaffer was arrested.

Wells’ sister Libby Black was heartbroken, especially after learning the driver of the car left the scene.

“I had to go pick up his stuff from the hospital yesterday. It’s very, very, very sad,” she said.

As Wells’ family prepares for his funeral, they are relieved Schaffer was caught.

“You want justice. You really do want justice,” Black said.

Schaffer was still in jail from the chase charges when he was charged in the hit-and-run.