Doctor Accused of Hit-and-Run in Westchester Parking Lot that Left Two People Injured

A doctor was taken into custody by Miami-Dade police on Monday after he left the scene of an accident at the Chase Bank parking lot in the Westchester region, according to the authorities.

According to officials, the collision happened on May 15 after they were called to the bank location at 8700 SW 24th St. after a hit-and-run that left two persons injured.

The physician, 72-year-old Armando Pineda Velez of Coral Springs, acknowledged driving on the day of the collision, according to his arrest record. It further says that he recalled the collision and claimed to have heard a big boom on his car as he pulled out of the parking space.

According to prosecutors, Pineda Velez spotted one of the women he struck walking with a walker and was holding her back. She reported that he asked both women if they were okay, but they declined to talk to him. According to the investigation, Pineda Velez thought both ladies were okay and left the area.

Ada Mendez and Clara Elena Vargas, the collision victims, informed police of the car’s tag number and that they were going across the parking lot when the vehicle pulled out of its parking space and struck them both, according to the report.

According to the arrest report, Mendez informed police that the driver never exited the car or drove off. It says that Mendez added that the driver seemed to be a Caucasian lady with black hair.

Vargas was seen by an emergency room physician after Mendez was brought to HCA Florida Kendall Hospital with unspecified injuries. Pineda Velez’s information matched the tag that the victims supplied to police, according to data checked by the authorities.

For leaving the scene of an accident without inflicting severe damage, Pineda Velez is charged with one count of felony.  As of Tuesday afternoon, Pineda Velez was no longer included in the jail database.