Police have arrested the driver who they said struck and killed a 15-year-old girl in Fort Lauderdale before fleeing the scene.
Max Stevenson Francois, 28, is facing one count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death in the crash that killed Jaliah Cross, Fort Lauderdale police said Thursday.
"We forgive him because we believe in God," Cross' mother said.
Francois appeared before a judge on Friday. It's unclear whether he's hired an attorney.
"There is an issue about being a flight risk by the very nature of the allegations against him," the judge said.
Police arrested Francois at a home where they discovered a vehicle under a tarp, which had significant front end damage.
"It appears he tried to hide the evidence by placing a tarp over his car," the judge said.
Police said Francois admitted to hitting something in the 1100 block of Northwest 15th Street on Monday night, the same night Cross was killed.
The judge set his bond at $75,000 and placed him on house arrest, requiring a GPS monitor.
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Police said Cross was walking across Northwest 15th Avenue at Northwest 11th Street around 8:45 p.m. Monday when she was struck by a car.
The car fled the scene without stopping, police said.
Cross, who attended Dillard High School, was taken to Broward Health Medical Center where she later died.
