Driver leaves crash to make delivery as mom, child escape car in canal, Florida cops say

A semi truck driver caused a mom and her toddler to crash into a canal, but he didn’t stop because he had to make a “delivery,” Florida authorities said.

Police later found 69-year-old Alton Winters and arrested him on charges of leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and improper lane change, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

Winters was driving a tractor-trailer on Kanner Highway the morning of Feb. 17 when he changed lanes and hit another car containing a mom and her 3-year-old child, deputies said in a news release.

The impact caused the woman’s car to veer off the road and into a body of water, according to deputies. Winters slowed down briefly but then continued driving because he “had to make a delivery,” leaving the mom and toddler to escape on their own, deputies said.

The mom got herself and her child out of the car and made it to the bank, according to deputies.

Winters drove to a produce company nearby and was later arrested by Stuart police, while the woman and child were hospitalized with minor injuries, deputies said.

Stuart is about a 40-mile drive northwest from West Palm Beach.

This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Driver leaves crash to make delivery as mom, child escape car in canal, Florida cops say."