FHP: Cantonment Man Charged After Highway 29 Wreck; His Passenger Seriously Injured

October 6, 2021

A Cantonment man was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol after a wreck on Highway 29 Tuesday night.

FHP said 26-year old Manuel De Jesus Hernandez Lopez of Cantonment was traveling north on Highway 29 about 6:15 p.m. when he attempted to make a turn across oncoming traffic to Tate School Road. Troopers said he failed to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic and turned into the path of a pickup truck driven by 65-year old Milton man.

A 34-year Cantonment man that was a passenger in the van was ejected in the resulting crash. He was transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital with serious injuries.

The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Lopez was charged with driving without a license. He remained in the Escambia County Jail Wednesday afternoon with bond set at $500.

Comments

8 Responses to “FHP: Cantonment Man Charged After Highway 29 Wreck; His Passenger Seriously Injured”

  1. Carola on October 7th, 2021 9:53 pm

    $500 bail? Are you kidding me? Suspended license and a hurt passenger? Go figure!

  2. Nikki J on October 7th, 2021 12:01 pm

    @citizen just because someone has a nice looking truck doesn’t necessarily mean that person just has a bunch of money to toss at a new truck and doctor bills. Some people work really hard for what they have and take care of their things to keep it looking nice. You seem to be suggesting that the innocent person should have to pay for everything because of their appearance. Maybe consider having a little more compassion and sensitivity before just judging someone based on their possessions. The driver of the truck could have been seriously injured because someone was being careless and not paying attention. I’ve personally been in that same situation and it’s an awful/helpless position to be in. I imagine the driver of the truck will have to deal with so much for years to come because of the guilty party. And let’s not forget the passenger of the van that was ejected and seriously injured. I hope and pray that person survives or everyone will have to deal with that sorrow and regret. I guess I’m just shocked that the comments on this immediately went to anger and blame instead of concern and compassion.

  3. Jane on October 7th, 2021 10:28 am

    Citizen.. obviously you aren’t as smart as you think you are! The truck was not at fault! It was the van that was at fault.

  4. Emily on October 6th, 2021 9:59 pm

    Citizen, Nothing you have written has anything whatsoever to do with the injured party actually being able to recover any financial loss. YOU need to do your research. Apparently you have never been involved in any type of accident with someone who has no driver’s license. No license= not responsible….usually no insurance/money….and, as Jason said, probably will fail to appear. What’s worse, nothing will happen to him. You have to murder someone for the law to come looking for you. And even then they don’t look too hard. I KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE.

  5. Jason on October 6th, 2021 9:42 pm

    @ Citizen – I fully understand the law. Ever had to wait for restitution from someone at fault? I have. It took six years me to get all of the money. Do you think I could wait six years to get my vehicle repaired???

    Then you have to worry about having a judge reduce that restitution to a lien? A person could spend a bunch of dollars chasing after any payment from the guy at fault.

    It’s part of the reason It’s important to carry a higher uninsured motorist coverage in the event whoever causes the wreck isn’t insured. If you ain’t aware of that fact I highly encourage you to speak with your insurance rep and have them enlighten you.

  6. Citizen on October 6th, 2021 7:07 pm

    I don’t know if it was his truck he was driving but it was a relatively new truck I saw the wreck and the truck if it was his and the cost of a truck like that he definitely can afford to fix the other people vehicle and pay doctors bills !!!!

  7. Citizen on October 6th, 2021 7:04 pm

    Know your laws Jason !!!! It’s called financial responsibility law in the state of fla!!!! He must pay for all damages to the other person !!! So next time do your research before you speak !!!!!

  8. Jason on October 6th, 2021 3:35 pm

    Well this guy made bond. On top of having no drivers license, I would imagine that he also had no insurance, leaving an innocent victim to pay the tab for repairs to their vehicle. All the more reason why I carry a higher limit for “uninsured drivers” coverage.

    It wont surprise me one bit that this guy also “fails to appear” for his next court date of 10/26.