Richard Anderson, the former City Administrator and current consultant/lobbyist for The City of Apopka, is being sued by Michael Falcon, the victim of a hit-and-run crash on April 5, 2016. In the complaint filed in the 5th Judicial Circuit Court for Lake County on April 19th, Falcon alleges that Anderson was the owner of the truck that collided with his car, and was also the driver of the vehicle.
The Florida Highway Patrol confirmed that Anderson is a person of interest in that hit-and-run crash last month, which injured Falcon to the extent that he was airlifted to the Orlando Regional Medical Center.
"The only person of interest in this hit-and-run investigation is the owner of the truck," said Sergeant Kim Montes, Public Affairs Officer for The Florida Highway Patrol.
The FHP Motor Vehicle Accident Report states Anderson’s truck was going the wrong way at 1:30 a.m. on April 5th and crashed into Falcon’s car.
The FHP said it’s trying to identify who was behind the wheel of Anderson’s black Dodge Ram truck when it crashed head-on into Falcon’s gray Toyota Corolla in Lake County road last month.
In FHP's report, witnesses who stopped at the scene said the truck's driver "...possibly could have been a male with white hair and glasses who was seen walking around the crash scene talking on a cellphone and then left in an unknown direction.”
Montes went on to say that Anderson was contacted about the incident and did not provide information as to who was driving the vehicle at the time of the hit-and-run. The investigation remains open according to Montes.
Anderson's Dodge Ram was left behind at the crash scene.
Falcon and his wife are suing Anderson, accusing him of being behind the wheel.
The lawsuit states:
Anderson was the owner of a 2014 Dodge Ram. On April 5th, 2016, at or about 1:30 a.m., while operating the subject vehicle, Anderson was traveling on State Road 46, in Lake County, Florida. At or about that same time and place, Michael Falcon was operating a 2007 Toyota Corolla traveling in the opposite direction as Anderson on State Road 46 in Lake County, Florida. Anderson veered into Falcon’s lane of travel, striking his vehicle head-on at a high rate of speed.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Falcon suffered serious and permanent injuries as a result of the collision, and that Anderson negligently operated or maintained his vehicle so that it collided with Falcon’s, and as a direct and proximate result of the negligence, Falcon suffered bodily injury, and resulting pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, expense of hospitalization, medical nursing care and treatment, loss of earnings, loss of ability to earn money, and aggravation of a previously existing condition. The losses are permanent or continuing and plaintiff will suffer the losses in the future.