A hit-and-run driver was taken into custody after fleeing the scene of a crash Sunday afternoon in The Villages.
According to a Sumter County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, a motorist was traveling on Buena Vista Boulevard at County Road 466A around 2 p.m. when her vehicle was rear-ended by another automobile. Both drivers initially indicated they would pull over, but the driver of the blue 2005 Ford F-150 that caused the collision sped away instead. The victim managed to take a photo of the fleeing truck, including its license plate.
Deputies later spotted the F-150 on County Road 108 near U.S. 301 and conducted a traffic stop. The driver was identified as 36-year-old Stephanie Nicole Del Castillo of Ocala. A check of her record showed her driver’s license had been suspended in 2023 for failing to pay traffic fines.
Del Castillo was arrested on a felony hit-and-run charge and a misdemeanor count of driving with a suspended license. She also received a citation for following too closely. She was booked into the Sumter County Detention Center and later released after posting $5,500 bond.
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