DELAND, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35 ORLANDO) -
Wednesday marks seven months since 14-year-old Juliana Hobbs was killed by a hit and run driver on a narrow street without sidewalks in DeLand. Police on Tuesday finally arrested a suspect at her home.
Danielle Halverson, 50, is now charged in the death of Hobbs after being a person of interest for several months. The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) has been working on this case meticulously since March 17.
"Our job is to make sure we do the most thorough investigation and what counts is what happens in that courtroom," said FHP spokesperson Sgt. Kim Montes.
Hobbs was walking with her friend when a car hit both teens from behind. FHP investigators said Halverson called them two days later to say her Toyota Corolla might have been involved. Montes said the FHP now has evidence to put Halverson in the car at the time of the fatal collision.
"Her cell phone records, her own admission to troopers that she was the driver of the car- that she dropped her cell phone the night of the crash, and when she went to retrieve it she struck the girls," she said.
Courtney Meyers is victim's sister. She is relieved by the arrest after seven months of waiting. Meyers said her sister saved eight lives after her organs were donated to others in need. She called her younger sister a hero.
