A pedestrian died after being hit by a man allegedly fleeing police and the officer in pursuit, according to authorities.
The incident happened Wednesday evening when an officer with the Orlando Police Department (OPD) was driving an unmarked Ford F-150 was pursuing a blacked-out car with no lights on, according to reporting from the Miami Herald.
The driver in the car, identified as Dornell Bargnare, 30, is accused of attempting to flee the officer.
In the chase, Bargnare made a sharp left turn and lost control of the vehicle, ran off the right side of the road and hit a man, 56, troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol told the newspaper. Bargnare also hit a utility pole in the crash.
The officer following behind also made the turn and ran off the shoulder. The officer hit the pedestrian with his front tire.
Police said Bargnare attempted to run away on foot and the officer followed him. Bargnare allegedly broke into a home to evade police before surrendering.
The pedestrian was transported to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.
Bargnare was charged with burglary and resisting an officer without violence, according to the OPD. The traffic investigation is being conducted by the Florida Highway Patrol, but OPD officials told the Herald they will conduct an internal investigation “to determine if any policy violations occurred in connection with the incident.”
Troopers with FHP told the newspaper that additional charges “are expected.”
As of Friday, the officer has not been identified. It is unclear whether the officer involved will face charges associated with the incident.
One witness told WESH, a news station out of Daytona Beach, that “there were no sirens on” during the chase.
“I heard the squealing of tires, the car trying to get away from the officer,” she said. “And then I heard the big bang, which is that pole right there, and I heard everybody scream.”
The pedestrian was identified in reporting from WESH as Gerald Neal.
Leesfield & Partners
In nearly five decades of personal injury practice, Leesfield & Partners has litigated just about every incident that can occur on the road. From trucking crashes causing serious injuries and death to road construction accidents, Leesfield & Partners’ attorneys are dedicated to securing the best possible outcome for each client.
The firm has secured well over $$295,482,575 in motor vehicle incidents on Florida roads in 48 years, including a record verdict of $95 million for a family who lost their daughter and whose son sustained permanent injuries after a drunk driver hit them going down the wrong side of the road on I-95. The family in that case was headed to the airport to take their daughter to her medical school’s orientation. The driver had been negligently overserved as the result of the negligence of a popular Miami bar.
The son’s injuries following the crash were so severe that he can no longer speak, requires a wheelchair and round-the-clock care. This was the largest verdict in Miami-Dade County history of its kind and, at the time of litigation, was the fourth-largest verdict in state history for a motor vehicle accident case.
In pedestrian-involved incidents, Leesfield & Partners has previously secured over $23 million for victims and their grieving families.
There were approximately 10,450 pedestrian-involved crashes in Florida for 2024, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Crash Dashboard, which reports numbers on crashes statewide. From those crashes, at least 677 people were killed and nearly 8,400 were injured. This year, there have been just under 900 pedestrian crashes with 40 deaths and 731 injuries. In Miami-Dade County, where Leesfield & Partners has one of three offices, there have been 157 pedestrian-involved incidents with 125 injuries and three deaths.
Previous Cases
Leesfield & Partners obtained an $8.5 million settlement following a $27 million arbitration award for the family of a young woman who was killed by a pickup truck driver while trying to cross the street. The woman, a wife and mother of two, was visiting Florida from her home in Toronto, Canada, when she was crushed by a pickup truck. The driver in that case claimed to not have seen her.
In the case of a woman who was walking back to her office following a midday break, Partner Justin B. Shapiro secured the maximum recoverable amount set forth in the defendant’s insurance policy limits. The woman was crossing the street in a marked crosswalk when a pickup truck driver made an illegal left turn, claiming to not have seen her. Injuries to our client included skull fractures and brain hemorrhages in addition to injuries to her left leg.
A $6 million settlement was secured for the client in that case.
In another pedestrian-involved case, Leesfield & Partners obtained a $2.9 million recovery our client who was injured due to a driver’s negligence.
The firm settled a pedestrian case in which our client was hit while walking on the sidewalk by a driver who was distracted by a cellphone. That case was resolved with a $1.5 million settlement.
In a tragic, fatal pedestrian case, Leesfield & Partners secured over $1.3 million for a driver’s negligence.
A child who was crossing the street suffered a traumatic brain injury after a driver hit him. In that case, Leesfield & Partners secured a $1.2 million settlement for the Fort Lauderdale family.
A pedestrian who was hit and killed in a bus accident involving a commercial bus company, the firm obtained a $1 million award for the family.
A case involving a trucking company whose employee negligently hit and injured our client was resolved with a $1 million recovery.
Another pedestrian case involving a negligent driver was resolved with a $600,000 award for our client.