A daughter is rejoicing after finally seeing “some justice” following the arrest of a suspect in her 88-year-old father’s death.
Natem James Stonic, 32, of Fruitland Park, was arrested Monday afternoon by Fruitland Park police on Sumter County warrants charging him with leaving the scene of an accident causing death and leaving the scene of an accident. He was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $25,500 bond.
Stonic was back in Lake County Court on Tuesday where he pleaded no contest to a charge of insurance fraud in connection with the Aug. 4, 2016 accident that severely injured Theodore Chalifoux of Parkwood Oaks in Wildwood. He died on New Year’s Day in 2017.
His daughter, Jacqueline Chalifoux of Lady Lake, cared for her father up until his death. Her mother is still living with her.
“She just hasn’t been the same,” Chalifoux said.
Chalifoux was in court on Tuesday when Stonic was sentenced to 24 months probation on the insurance fraud charge.
Now the more serious charges will be heard in Sumter County Court.
“I haven’t missed a court date,” Chalifoux said.
Since the accident on the Florida Turnpike at the U.S. 301 exit at Wildwood left her father with a broken neck and other injuries, Chalifoux has been laser-focused on the pickup that left the scene.
Turnpike video had captured a pickup truck with front-end damage. Chalifoux returned to the scene of the crash and found the Ford emblem from the damaged pickup truck.
Stonic had reported that his vehicle had been damaged Aug. 4, 2016 on the Florida Turnpike in a hit-and-run accident. He filed a claim with his insurance company, USAA. However, Stonic had provided conflicting information, according to an an arrest report from FHP.
The arrest in her father’s death has been a long time coming, she said.
“They had to be sure to dot all of their i’s and cross all of their t’s,” she said.
Now, she is feeling some sense of justice. Chalifoux said she is particularly grateful to law enforcement.
“You have to be proactive. You have to take pictures. But one day you’ll get justice,” she said.
