A Florida man accused of hitting a pedestrian while driving a pickup truck allegedly attempted to have the vehicle repainted to avoid prosecution, authorities said.
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Henry Earl Riner, 71, of Seffner, was arrested Monday and charged with leaving the scene of a crash with death, tampering with physical evidence and driving while his license was permanently revoked, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
“A piece of the vehicle found at the scene was a unique color,” sheriff’s Cpl. Larry McKinnon told the Times. "It was like the color of a traffic cone.”
Just before midnight Friday, Linda Kay Fisher, 46, was walking home on a dimly lit road after her shift as a waitress when she was hit and killed by a vehicle, police said. Her body was found in a ditch the next morning, the Times reported.
While authorities were searching for an orange-red truck that was involved in the crash, Riner allegedly was getting it repainted black, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
A tip to Crime Stoppers led deputies to Riner, the Times reported.
Deputies said they found a 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck that had recently been painted black. A photo of the truck before the paint job showed the vehicle had been an orange-red color, the Times reported. Damage to the vehicle was consistent with the collision that killed Fisher, deputies said.
Riner was released on $19,000 bail Tuesday afternoon.