FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Deputies have arrested a man from Homestead in connection with a Christmas Eve hit-and-run crash that left a motorcyclist paralyzed from the chest down.
Thomas Pathammavong, 22, of Homestead, faces several charges, including reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in serious bodily injury.
The victim, Robert Games, 43, was placed in a medically-induced coma after the crash.
Broward Sheriff's Office detectives said Games was stopped on his motorcycle at a red light on North Federal Highway in Pompano Beach when a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck struck him from behind and kept driving.
Investigators said that Pathammavong was believed to have been involved in another hit-and-run in Lighthouse Point and was fleeing from that scene when he struck Games.
During the investigation, detectives received information about a blue Silverado matching the truck's description that was reported stolen Jan. 5, although the reporter claimed it had actually been missing since Dec. 23. In the stolen vehicle report, Pathammavong said he didn't report it sooner because he thought the truck had been repossessed.
The truck was located Jan. 26 in Miami-Dade County.
After obtaining additional evidence that Pathammavong had been behind the wheel of the truck on Christmas Eve, detectives said, the information was presented to the Broward County state attorney's office for review. Friday, prosecutors filed eight charges against Pathammavong related to the crash.
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Jan. 21: Walter Reyes was killed and Henry Hernandez was injured in a hit-and-run crash while they were riding their bicycles on the Rickenbacker Causeway.