Hernando hit-and-run suspect captured after trying to call Uber

Hernando County deputies arrested Emmanuel Ayala, 39, on Friday, June 29, in the woods where he was hiding after a hit-and-run near Glory Days in Brooksville.

On June 26, one vehicle rear-ended another in a crash with injuries. The driver did not stay at the scene and fled, setting off a search that stretched into a neighborhood west of Mobley Road.

Ayala refused a traffic stop, abandoned his vehicle behind a residence, removed the license plate and ran into the woods on foot. Hernando County deputies used K-9 and drone units to search the area while keeping a perimeter in place.

Deputies later identified Ayala as the registered owner of the abandoned vehicle. He was on federal probation for resisting arrest. Ayala had his two young children with him while fleeing; neither child was injured. The Florida Highway Patrol also charged Ayala with leaving the scene of a crash with injury and endangering his children.

Ayala tried to call a rideshare from the wooded area. The driver noticed the active police presence and alerted authorities instead of completing the pickup, allowing deputies to close in.

Florida law requires drivers to stop immediately at the scene of a crash involving property damage, injury or death. Leaving the scene of a crash with injuries is a felony under state law, and the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act changed hit-and-run penalties on July 1, 2014.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles recorded 104,273 hit-and-run crashes in 2023, with 271 fatalities and 871 serious bodily injuries. Preliminary 2024 data showed 97,902 hit-and-run crashes statewide.