Hit-and-run driver hits cars, dumpster in Mandarin apartment complex

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Neighbors living in a Mandarin apartment complex said a driver crashed into cars and a dumpster in their parking lot in broad daylight before taking off.

The hit-and-run happened Friday afternoon at the Avesta Mandarin Apartment Complex near San Jose Boulevard.

Rebecca Pineda said she was in her apartment watching television around 1:30 p.m. when she heard a noise in the parking lot.

"I heard some car screeching. After the screeching sound, I heard a really big boom," she said.

Pineda says she put on her shoes and went outside to see what happened.

“I see my car tilted at a 45-degree angle," Pineda said. "My car and my neighbor’s car had been rear-ended.”

Pineda quickly realized she and her neighbor were victims of the hit-and-run, but there was even more damage caused by the driver.

“The car had an impact on the dumpster, and he pushed the entire dumpster into the building," Pineda said.

About 10 minutes after News4Jax spoke with Pineda, she called to tell us police captured a suspect on the Westside. She said she learned the information from the apartment's front office staff, which was in close contact with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Pineda said she just got the car a week ago from her mother. She said her previous car was totaled during Hurricane Dorian.

News4Jax has requested the police report from the Sheriff's Office.


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