Driver arrested after trooper-involved crash

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (WSVN) -- Police have arrested a dump truck driver after, they allege, he left the scene of a multiple-vehicle accident involving a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser.

The accident occurred in the southbound lanes of Interstate 95, near Hallandale Beach Boulevard, Friday morning. Authorities said the driver of the dump truck struck a Toyota Camry, and the impact forced the car to smash into an FHP trooper's cruiser. According to police, the dump truck then fled the scene.

After about 25 minutes, with the help of the Jaws of Life, rescuer cut the roof from the cruiser and extricated the FHP trooper, 53-year-old Theodore Mena, from his mangled squad car. FHP Sergeant Mark Wysocky said, "In our line of work, things can go from zero to 100 in a short amount of time. The troopers that work out here on the interstates, any other deputy sheriff or city officer that comes out here on the interstate, they realize the dangers when they make a traffic stop out here."

Mena, who is a 23-year FHP veteran, was transported to Memorial Regional Hospital, where he remains in serious condition but with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Camry, 30-year-old Ryan David Burns, was also transported to the hospital, where he was treated and later released.

Hours later, police pulled over the dump truck involved in the crash in the area of Southwest 47th Avenue and Eighth Street in Miami. Reportedly, an off-duty police officer was speaking with Mena's wife after the hit-and-run occurred. He did not realize that he was driving behind the vehicle involved in the accident. "She said, 'Hey, listen, you might want to take the tag down,'" said FHP Lieutenant Alex Annunziato. "'They're putting it out through all the media,' which we're very, very grateful for. He jotted down the information and then looked up and noticed that he happened to be right behind the truck."

Police arrested the dump truck's driver, Roberto Pena of Boca Raton, and charged him with two felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving injuries. According to investigators, Pena's truck showed signs of its involvement in the highway crash.

Pena is being processed in Miami, but eventually, he will be transferred to the Broward County Jail.

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