Soldier hurt amid fatal hit-and-runs, Polk deputies say

Deputies arrested one of the drivers involved in two back-to-back hit-and-run crashes Thursday morning, according to a statement released by the Polk County Sheriff ’s Office.

Lakeland resident Corey Wesley Jones, 20, turned himself in and was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a crash with serious bodily injury and reckless driving with serious bodily injury.

Authorities say he was driving an SUV that struck 40-year-old Kelli Marie Black, who was riding a scooter, on Galloway Road about 2:20 a.m. Thursday.

A U.S. Army soldier, Pfc. Kalen Lawson, 20, stopped to help her. But another driver struck him and Black, then fled the scene, investigators said. That driver, who is still at large, was possibly in a white or light-colored Ford F150 pickup, according to the statement.

“All of us have a fundamental moral responsibility to stop when involved in a crash. It’s just basic human decency — and it’s the law,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. Black died at the scene of the crash. Deputies identified the SUV on surveillance video.

Lawson, a Lakeland man who is stationed in Fort Hood, Texas, was taken to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center. His leg was severely injured, but doctors expect him to recover, the Sheriff ’s Office said.

Another 20-year-old who also tried to help Black, Markell M. Grant, was not injured.

Anyone with information about either crash can call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477.