A 41-year-old man was arrested after a hit-and-run crash claimed the life of a bicyclist early Thursday morning in Ocala.
Harold Fleming was driving a Ford F-150 at 1:51 a.m. eastbound on NE 24th Street and entered the westbound lane, striking 33-year-old Perry Joshua Nolan Perez, according to the Ocala Police Department.
Perez was thrown onto the northern shoulder of the roadway and struck a set of utility pole wires before coming to rest. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Fleming continued traveling eastbound to the 2300 block of NE 24th Street where he finally stopped and called to report the collision. Fleming was arrested on a charge of DUI manslaughter after breath samples revealed he had a blood alcohol content of .217 and .205. He has also been charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving fatality.
It is the third traffic fatality this year in Ocala. All three have been the result of a hit and run.