Ormond Man Arrested For Causing 3 Wrecks Near Walmart

Posted

Daytona Beach, FL - A Volusia County deputy's attempt to help the people in what looked like a disabled vehicle ends with the arrest of an Ormond Beach man for causing three separate crashes near the entrance of a Daytona Beach Walmart.

30-year-old Jonathan L. Vega (above) was out on probation for robbery when he was arrested by the Daytona Beach Police Department Monday afternoon near the Walmart on the corner of Beville and Nova roads.

Beside three misdemeanor charges of leaving the scene of a crash, Vega is also charged with felony principal to child abuse because his 6-year-old daughter was in the vehicle when all three crashes happened, per the arrest report. He's now held without bond at Volusia County Jail.

DBPD officers were called to the scene around 2:15 p.m. after the VCSO deputy says he spotted the car Vega was driving just off the eastbound side of Beville and turned around to assist.

The make and model of the vehicle Vega was driving isn't clear in the report, but it does show that Vega took off in that vehicle when he saw the deputy coming over, causing the three crashes near the Walmart's Beville Road entrance.

The wrecks caused so much damage to the vehicle that it eventually stopped at the intersection of Beville and Nova, which is where he was taken into custody.

DBPD discovered afterward that same vehicle was involved in another hit and run earlier in the day, but apparently not with Vega at the wheel. 24-year-old Trace A. Heafner (below) - a passenger in Vega's car during the Walmart crashes - told officers he was the driver during that incident, according to the report.

Heafner is also in custody at VCJ on four drug-related charges - including three for possession - and is held without bond for violating probation on a felony battery charge.

The report doesn't show if any of the people involved in the crash were hurt, but Vega's daughter - who also confirmed that her father was the driver, per DBPD - was released to another family member at the scene after police consulted with the state Department of Children & Families.

Vega refused to do a field sobriety test at the scene after officers smelled alcohol on his breath and asked for a lawyer, according to the report.