LAKELAND, Fla. – A 64-year-old Lakeland resident, Joy Deangelis, was arrested on Wednesday evening by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office after allegedly crashing into a neighbor’s fence and fleeing the scene.
The incident occurred around 8 p.m. on Rockridge Road when the homeowner returned to discover significant damage to his privacy fence. A neighbor who witnessed the crash reported seeing a white Hyundai sedan collide with the fence. According to the witness, the driver exited the vehicle, retrieved her detached bumper, and drove off without reporting the incident.
Deputies say the witness captured a photograph of the fleeing vehicle and its license plate, providing that evidence to authorities.
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Responding deputies ran the vehicle’s tag number and traced it to a residence approximately two miles from the crash site. Upon arriving at the address, deputies located the damaged Hyundai parked in the backyard, conspicuously missing its bumper.
When deputies made contact with the vehicle’s owner, Deangelis, she was identified as the driver involved in the incident.
Deangelis was arrested and transported to the Polk County Jail. She faces charges of leaving the scene of a crash with property damage and received a citation for careless driving.
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