SUNRISE, Fla. – Police say a 77-year-old Sunrise man told detectives he was looking at his cellphone while driving in December, felt a bump, heard a “voice” and “noise”. Authorities allege he didn’t bother to stop.
Those sounds came from two cyclists, a pair of brothers, riding south along Hiatus Road, between Oakland Park and Sunrise boulevards, police said.
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Authorities say Haroon Rasheed Lakhani struck them from behind, sending them to Broward Health Medical Center as trauma patients; one required surgery. Police arrested Lakhani Thursday.
According to a Sunrise Police Department arrest report, the crash happened at around 7:25 a.m. on Dec. 23.
Police said after the crash, as Lakhani kept on driving in his black SUV, a Good Samaritan passing by noticed the cyclists in the roadway, stopped to help and called 911.
The arrest report states that police were able to collect key pieces of evidence from the scene: pieces of a right mirror with “TOYOTA” inscribed on it and a black fender flare with peeling paint. A Toyota dealership was able to assist police in identifying the suspect vehicle as a black 2002-2009 Toyota RAV4.
Officer Allen Stotler wrote in the report that on Jan. 3, he was canvassing a nearby neighborhood and saw a RAV4 matching the vehicle description parked at a home: It was missing a fender flare and had a brand new right mirror. The missing fender piece turned out to be an exact match.
Lakhani came out of his home and spoke with officers, admitting that he was behind the wheel that day and was driving to feed birds in Plantation, saying that “while driving he looked at his phone, felt a bump and heard a ‘voice/noise,’” Stotler wrote.
Stotler wrote that Lakhani told him he was “unable to account for the damage to his vehicle and at his request, his son-in-law replaced the mirror” on Dec. 30, a week after the crash.
Lakhani was taken into custody on charges of leaving the scene of an crash causing serious bodily injury and leaving the scene of an crash causing non-serious injury. Both charges are felonies.
According to court records, he was also cited for careless driving and failing to maintain a single lane.
He was set to be released from the Broward Main Jail on a $9,500 bond as of Friday morning.
Court records show he’s scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday.