JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police arrested a man Thursday in connection with the hit-and-run death of a 14-year-old bicyclist in Northwest Jacksonville in August.
Lucious J. Hester, 40, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death and driving while license suspended. At a first appearance Friday, he was ordered held held on $280,000 bond.
Just before 1 a.m. Aug. 24, D'Quan Armstrong (pictured, below) was riding a bicycle in the 9100 block Sibbald Road. Police said Hester, who was exceeding the posted speed limit at the time of the crash, struck Armstrong and his bicycle in the middle of the road. The bicycle broke into several pieces.
Police said Hester fled from the scene and made no immediate effort to call police or rescue. Investigators said he drove the vehicle to a home north of the crash scene, removed his shirt, cleaned the glass off his body, and told the owner he would replace the windshield.
Police said Hester then fled her home once he discovered the owner of the vehicle had notified the police.
Before leaving, Hester changed shirts, leaving the bloodied shirt he was wearing during the crash in a room in the home, police said.
Hester proceeded to a second home, where he called police, investigators said. They said a blood kit was completed on him, and a DNA analysis of the shirt Hester was wearing at the time of the crash confirmed that the blood on the shirt belonged to Armstrong.
"When I called my niece to tell about arrest, which they already knew, I asked them, 'What's all that noise in the background?' It was sounds of joy," said Armstrong's uncle, Douglas Dixon.
Family members told they've been waiting anxiously for officers to make an arrest.
"Actually today, made two months since D'Quan been gone, so these have been longest two months ever," said Armstrong's aunt, Shica Dixon.
Police said Hester also had a suspended driver's license for failure to pay and failure to appear.
Hester was booked into the Duval County jail.