Police say dozens of used and unused "whippets" were found in the car of a driver accused of fleeing the scene after hitting a man who was sitting at a Miami bus bench.
Rodrigo Alejandro Delatorre, 36, was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a crash causing serious bodily injury and leaving the scene of a crash causing property damage in the Wednesday afternoon crash that happened in the area of Northwest 7th Avenue and Northwest 58th Street, according to an arrest report.
According to the report, witnesses said they saw a gray Lexus sedan drive up onto the sidewalk and hit the man at the bus stop before fleeing the scene. Some witnesses followed the car until it stopped in the area of Northwest 6th Court and Northwest 54th Street, where officers responded and detained Delatorre.
The 63-year-old victim was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he suffered a broken pelvis and a laceration to his liver. Part of the crash was captured on surveillance video.
Delatorre told officers he was reaching for his phone that had dropped to the floor when he felt his car ride up on the curb and hit something, the report said. He said he looked around and didn't see anything, so he drove to a parking lot to see the damages to his car, the report said.
The report said Delatorre's Lexus was damaged, with a fog light and plastic grill left at the scene.
When officers searched the Lexus, they wound a whip cream dispenser along with 104 used and eight unused "whippet" cartridges, the report said. Drug users inhale nitrous oxide from the cartridges using a dispenser.
In bond court Thursday, prosecutors said he was previously arrested for leaving the scene of a crash, and is on probation on a drug charge until March 2022. He was ordered held on $50,000 bond, and attorney information wasn't available.
