VCSO: Suspect driver and vehicle located this morning, but no charges yet
DELTONA -- An apparent drug deal in Deltona went horribly wrong late Sunday afternoon, resulting in the death of an 18-year-old man who was dragged down the street by a fleeing motorist, an official with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.
The victim was identified as Tristan De Joy, who witnesses reported walking late Sunday afternoon to the end of Sonnet Court, the same Deltona road where he lives. Next, a pickup truck was spotted driving to the end of the street, where De Joy was.
"All of a sudden, the pickup truck took off down the road at a high rate of speed, with De Joy hanging on to the exterior of the vehicle," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "De Joy eventually lost his grip and tumbled to the street, sustaining critical injuries in the fall. As residents in the neighborhood called 911 to report the incident, the pickup truck kept on going and fled the scene."
Deputies have located the pickup truck and driver and early this morning were interviewing witnesses along with those directly involved in the incident. No charges had been filed, but the incident remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office’s Major Case Unit., Davidson said.
Deputies began arriving at 5:10 p.m. De Joy was airlifted by a Sheriff’s Office helicopter to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where he was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. Deputies quickly learned that the incident apparently stemmed from a planned drug transaction, Davidson said, adding witnesses claimed that De Joy had been selling marijuana. Before he was rushed to the hospital, deputies found a small digital scale in the pocket of his pants, the Sheriff's spokesman said.
Deputies began arriving at 5:10 p.m. De Joy was airlifted by a Sheriff’s Office helicopter to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where he was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. Deputies quickly learned that the incident apparently stemmed from a planned drug transaction, Davidson said, adding witnesses claimed that De Joy had been selling marijuana. Before he was rushed to the hospital, deputies found a small digital scale in the pocket of his pants, the Sheriff's spokesman said.