Belle Isle leader sued in car crash

Belle Isle’s interim city manager, Richard Anderson, is facing a lawsuit that charges him with negligent driving in a hit-and-run crash from early April.

The suit claims that Anderson was behind the wheel of a black Dodge Ram that “veered” into the path of an oncoming Toyota Corolla in the early-morning hours of April 5. The Corolla driver, Michael Falcon, suffered permanent injuries in the wreck on State Road 46 near Sorrento, according to the complaint.

The Dodge Ram driver left the crash scene and abandoned the smashed-up truck, which is owned by Anderson, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. FHP Sgt. Kim Montes said the pickup wasn’t reported stolen at the time of the collision and Anderson is the only person of interest in the ongoing investigation.

At about 1:30 a.m. the day of the crash, Falcon, a lead wastewater plant operator for the city of Sanford, was traveling east on the dark Lake County highway en route to his job, according to his attorney, Gregory Smith. The FHP report states that Falcon’s car collided head-on with the Dodge pickup, which was traveling down the wrong side of the road.

No one witnessed the crash, but a couple of passers-by stopped to help Falcon, who was cut and bruised and had a punctured lung, Smith said.

“One of them comforted him and wrapped him in shirts and clothes because he was bleeding,” the attorney said.

The crash report states that the Dodge Ram driver “could have been a male with white hair and glasses.” Someone of this description was spotted wandering around the crash while talking on a cellphone and left the scene in an unknown direction, the report stated.

Montes said troopers didn’t photograph the wreckage but said she can’t elaborate on how the investigation is being conducted, since it’s still pending. She said she couldn’t disclose whether FHP has interviewed Anderson.

Falcon is asking Anderson for information on his whereabouts April 5 and his phone records from that morning.

“Obviously, we’d like to see who he was talking to while my client is lying on the side of the road,” Smith said.

Falcon, 51, of Grand Island was airlifted from the crash scene to Orlando Regional Medical Center, according to the FHP report. Smith said his client spent several days in the hospital and has recovered enough to return to work on a limited basis.

Anderson spent decades in Apopka government, retiring in 2014 as the city administrator. He’s been working since January as Belle Isle’s interim city manager, a job that pays $7,500 per month.

Falcon and his wife, Renee Falcon, filed their lawsuit in Lake County Circuit Court on April 19, seeking compensation for injuries, medical expenses, loss of earnings and other setbacks.

Anderson did not respond to messages requesting comment.