110 W. New York Ave.
DeLand, FL 32720
386-734-4622
IMAGE COURTESY FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL
Person of interest — The Florida Highway Patrol said a man matching the description in this composite sketch is a “person of interest” in the hit-and-run accident that killed Jimmy Ledford. FHP Sgt. Kim Montes said there have been no tips or leads in the case since last year.
By Pat Andrews
posted Jul 11, 2012 - 7:23:59am
Jimmy Ledford died more than a year ago, after he was run over on State Road 415 in Osteen. His family still wants to know who’s responsible.
The 34-year-old Sanford native was riding in a truck driven by his friend Otto Puttin of Sanford around 12:30 a.m. Monday, June 13, 2011, when a motorcyclist crossed the center line into the path of Puttin’s truck.
Ledford had gotten out of the pickup to check on McDaniel, and was standing or kneeling in the northbound lane of S.R. 415, when an unknown vehicle, traveling southbound, swerved around to avoid the wreckage and struck Ledford.
The vehicle did not stop, and Florida Highway Patrol investigators found no evidence — no vehicle parts — to help identify it.
At the crash scene, Ledford, who was critically injured, used his cell phone to call his mother, Bernice Mims of Sanford. He told her he loved her, and that he didn’t think he’d make it.
Rescuers rushed Ledford to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford, where he died.
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) has kept the investigation open in the hope that someone will identify the hit-and-run driver, or that the driver might confess.
“We hope that they feel guilty, and that they will come forward,” FHP spokeswoman Kim Montes said.
Read The Beacon’s original report of the crash at www.beacononlinenews.com/news/daily/3850.
The grieving family wants justice.
Ledford left behind his mother, his stepfather, Jerry Mims, and brothers and sisters Aleecea, Leslie, Kenny and Ashley, who live in Central Florida, and Wesley, David and Stephany, who live in Indiana.
“Jimmy was like a second daddy” to his nephew, Austin, his mother said. The boy will turn 7 in September.
Jimmy loved fishing and hunting.
Her son’s death is a second roadway tragedy for Bernice Mims. Jimmy’s father, James Ledford, was killed in a motorcycle crash when Jimmy was 8.
“You feel like when it happens, you’re never going to make it,” she said. “You’re crying with the kids, and you’re trying to be their mommy and daddy.”
Bernice married Jerry Mims in 1996.
“He was Jimmy’s daddy for 16 years,” she said.
A new FHP investigator is putting a fresh set of eyes on the case, Bernice Mims said, and family members are hopeful for success, and for closure.
The family created a Facebook page called “Justice for Jimmy.”
Anyone with any information is asked to call the FHP at 407-737-2213.
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