Bail set for Allison Hoffman in tow truck hit-and-run death of Roger Perez-Borroto
The woman suspected of hitting a tow truck driver on the Howard Frankland Bridge and leaving him for dead early Monday admitted to being behind the wheel, according to court documents.
Allison Huffman, 36, acknowledged knowing she had been in a crash but was scared and failed to stop or help Rogelio Perez-Borroto, the tow truck worker she hit. Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) charged Hoffman with leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
FHP detailed the incident: Huffman had been driving north on the Howard Franklin bridge approaching the Kennedy Boulevard exit about 2:20 a.m. Monday morning when the right front end of her black 2012 Volkswagen Passat struck Perez-Borroto. The man was an employee of Lou’s Total Auto Care who had stopped to help two stranded motorists.
Perez-Borroto, 43, died at the scene.
Huffman kept going, troopers say.
Pinellas Circuit Judge Nancy Moate Ley set her bail at $750,000 during her first appearance in a Pinellas County courtroom Tuesday afternoon.
Perez-Borroto’s sister Zarais Perez-Borroto traveled from Miami to attend Huffman’s first appearance hearing.
“You always see the news and you see it happen to other people, but you just never imagine it happening to you,” an emotional Perez-Borroto told the press.
Huffman was sighted in St. Pete the next day after a friend tipped off police, FHP spokesman Steve Gaskins detailed. Investigators tracked her cellphone signal 12 miles away near the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in east Tampa.
Allison F. Huffman
County records show that Huffman has been arrested three times in Hillsborough on charges of driving under the influence, twice back in 2002 and a third time in 2010.
Huffman’s arrest came on the second day of “Hit and Run Awareness Week,” a campaign by the Florida Highway Patrol and Department of Motor Vehicles urging motorists to remain at the scene after a crash.
The campaign also aims to raise awareness about the state’s “move over” law, which requires drivers to change lanes to give wide berth to emergency vehicles with flashing lights. That includes tow trucks.
Perez-Borroto, who went by ‘Roger,’ lived alone but had a wife and young daughter in Venezuela, said Jason Morales to TampaBay.com. Morales is reportedly a friend who works as officer manager for the towing operation at Lou’s Total Car Care. Perez-Borroto used video chat to keep in touch during the long-distance relationship and was determined to bring his family to the United States so they could be together again.
“That was definitely a milestone he wanted to accomplish,” said Morales to the outlet.
Morales said he slept little Monday night, distraught over his friend’s death and determined to follow the search for Huffman. News of her arrest, he said, “makes me happy and sad at the same time.”
“Of course I was happy that they caught her, but I just got angry again,” he said.
