ARREST MADE IN 2017 FATAL GREENACRES HIT-AND-RUN WANT TO HELP?
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GREENACRES — Palm Beach County sheriff ’s authorities have arrested a man in a fatal hit-and-run last year near Greenacres.
William Layton, 33, was arrested Thursday on charges related to the May 28 death of Manny Vargas, including leaving the scene of a deadly crash and driving without a valid driver’s license.
Judge Ted Booras set the auto mechanic’s bail at $50,000 during a hearing Friday morning at the Palm Beach County Jail.
Vargas, 38, was thrown about 75 feet after he was struck while walking southbound in the bike lane on the 3400 block of South Military Trail, an unincorporated area south of 10th Avenue North between Palm Springs and Greenacres, PBSO said.
A day after the crash, investigators received an anonymous tip that the car involved in the wreck was a blue 2007 Toyota Corolla driven by a man named “Billy” Layton.
Authorities found a Layton living about 2 miles from the crash site in a home just west of Palm Springs. They drove by the home and found a Toyota Corolla with damage consistent with being involved in a wreck.
Investigators obtained a search warrant and found evidence in the lower right corner of the windshield that indicated the vehicle hit a person.
Surveillance-camera footage from a business on South Military Trail reportedly shows the Toyota Corolla plow into Vargas without attempting to slow down or stop. Later video captured Layton stopping at a bar and looking at the damage to the car with other men.
Layton faces an additional charge of evidence tampering for reportedly washing off the car with a hose.