OAKLAND PARK, Fla. – A Broward Crime Stoppers tip eventually led to the arrest of a 35-year-old man in a deadly 2023 hit-and-run crash in Oakland Park, deputies said.
Nicolas Francois, who lives in northeast Miami-Dade’s Ives Estates area, turned himself in at the Broward County jail on Wednesday. He’s facing a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death in connection with the Aug. 1, 2023 wreck in the 2400 block of West Oakland Park Boulevard.
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The key Crime Stoppers tip was received on Aug. 4, 2023, soon after Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives made a public plea for information on a white Audi. Deputies said they located the vehicle in North Miami, got a search warrant and took DNA swabs.
According to a BSO arrest report, after locating the vehicle, a witness told detectives that he and Francois had been driving from a “housewarming” party to get food when he fell asleep and was awoken by the impact of Francois slamming into the pedestrian, who wasn’t identified in the report.
The witness told deputies that Francois continued driving all the way to Miramar before stopping at a restaurant where he inspected the damage. He then dropped the witness off at home, deputies said.
Deputies said in the report that while Francois was not at fault in the crash — as the pedestrian was jaywalking — he is still criminally liable for failing to stop and render aid.
As of Thursday morning, Francois was being held in the BSO Main Jail on a $75,000 bond.