Suspect arrested in Volusia County hit-and-run

Police say 2 dead in apparent hit-and-run on SR-44

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Police say they have arrested the suspect accused of fatally striking two people who were left for dead along the side of a Volusia County road.

The bodies of Savannah Jo Dejarnette, 26, and Zachary Tyler Kahle, 24, were found along the eastbound lanes of State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach just after 11 p.m. Tuesday in an apparent hit-and-run crash, according to police.

New Smyrna Beach police arrested 37-year-old Brian Kennedy late Wednesday afternoon for allegedly hitting Dejarnette and Kahle, killing them and then leaving the scene of the accident.

Matthew Dejarnette said he is still stunned. He visited the scene where his daughter, Savannah, and her boyfriend, Zachary, were killed.

Police said a citizen noticed the extensive damage to Kennedy's van and reported it. It had a busted windshield and a dented hood.

Police say the two victims either had car trouble or ran out of gas. They were walking east on State Road 44 when police said Kennedy hit them and kept going.

A young man on a scooter spotted Kahle's body on the side of the road.

"It looks like he has blood on him and he's in a weird position laying on the ground on the side of the road," he said.

Savannah's grandmother said her heart is broken.

"I don't know how anybody could do this, and just leave them laying there and keep on going," she said.

"What if Savannah was still living when it happened?" said Peggy Stickney, Savannah's mother. "If that guy would have stopped, maybe she still would be alive."