ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — The truck driver accused of hitting and killing a young deaf couple without stopping in 2013 turned himself in to troopers on Monday, authorities said.
Mariah King and Vincent Mathews were fatally struck while changing a tire on the side of the Turnpike near Fort Pierce in October 2013.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers released a surveillance image from a toll plaza they said showed the driver of the truck believed to have hit the couple.
That driver, Robert Bates, allegedly ditched the damaged semi truck at a storage yard, but it was later recovered by troopers.
Prior to his arrest, King's mother told Channel 9 how hard it's been for her family.
"It's been hectic and full of emptiness. No closure at all," said mother Susan Dennis.
Bates turned himself in Monday after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The State Attorney's Office said they had been reviewing the case for months.
"With the photograph of the driver, the damage to the truck and the victims' DNA found on the truck, the state has a pretty solid case," said WFTV legal analyst Bill Sheaffer.
The 69-year-old was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, involving death.