Driver Feared Insurance Hike After Fatal High-And-Run Crash

MIAMI, FL — After turning himself in four days later, a 59-year-old Miami man told Miami-Dade police that he didn't stop at the scene of Sunday's fatal hit-and-run crash because he was afraid his insurance premium would increase. Now Michael Vernet is charged with leaving the scene of the crash, a first-degree felony under Florida law. The victim, 51-year-old Auguste Friznel would later die and two women would be struck by another car as police handed out fliers looking for Vernet.

Miami-Dade police said that Vernet walked into the Northside station shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday and told Officer Terry Crume that he was the driver of the Toyota Rav4 police had been looking for since Sunday's crash Friznel was struck as he tried to make his way across NW 7 Avenue at NW 103 Street on foot around 8:30 p.m.

"The defendant further stated that he did not call 9-1-1 or returned to the scene to assist the victim after the crash because he was scared and that his insurance was going to go up," according to court documents made public on Friday.

See also: 2 More Pedestrians Struck Near Hit-And-Run Crime Scene

Vernet, a Haitian citizen, who works as a laborer, told police that they could find his white Toyota in the 13000 block of West Dixie Highway. Police later released surveillance video of the Rav4 as it struck Friznel (watch below).

The two other pedestrians were struck on Wednesday afternoon as Miami-Dade homicide detectives were steps away handing out fliers in the hopes of locating the driver from Sunday's crash. The two women were taken to a local hospital.

Unlike Sunday's incident, the driver who hit the women remained on the scene.

According to court documents, Vernet tried to avoid Friznel.

"The defendant applied his brakes and attempted to avoid the pedestrian, however the front left of the Toyota struck the victim," the documents said. "The defendant released his brakes and fled south on NW 7th Avenue without stopping, rendering aide to the victim or reporting the crash."

Friznel was taken to the Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. He was later pronounced dead by hospital staff.

Watch video of Sunday's hit-and-run crash below:

Photo of Michael Vernet courtesy Miami-Dade Police Department