Man Leaves Lethal Hit-And-Run To Grab A Beer, Returns As Cops Arrive

Florida authorities responded to a report of a deadly hit-and-run Tuesday, arriving to find a deceased pedestrian and a drunken man denying any knowledge of the accident.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to the call at around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, finding the body of a 51-year-old man lying near an undamaged bicycle in the middle of a dead end street with limited residential traffic, reports the Sun-Sentinel. 21-year-old Richard S. Schenfield waited in a 1997 Honda for the authorities to arrive on the scene. When law enforcement officials finally showed up, they interviewed Schenfield, who said that he had left his nearby home a short while ago in order to purchase some cigarettes. He also denied any knowledge of the crash, according to the report filed with the Polk County Sheriff. Deputies immediately suspected that Schenfield was drunk.

Turns out, Schenfield was the guy who hit the poor biker after it was observed that his vehicle had some damage to the front. He had returned to the scene after hitting the man and then leaving, reports Newser.

So where did he go?

To a nearby Circle K convenience store, according to video surveillance recovered by authorities. In the footage, Schenfield gets out of his car and looks at the front of it for several moments. He goes inside the Circle K to buy a beer, comes back out, and resumes inspecting his vehicle for damage.

Just in case you didn’t know, it’s really really really bad to leave the scene of a crime, even if you do come back and were intending to come back in good faith. If someone dies at that scene, that’s even worse, but it’s still really bad regardless.

In any case, Schenfield was charged for Leaving the Scene of a Traffic Crash with a Fatality and Failure to Obtain a Valid Florida Driver’s License.