CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WBBH) – A Florida woman was arrested after accidentally hitting a tree with her car in a T.J. Maxx parking lot and leaving the scene. The charges have since been dropped, but she is now speaking out about the emotional impact of the incident.
Yanelly Guzman says she was pulling into a parking spot ahead of her Christmas Eve shift at T.J. Maxx when she felt a bump.
“I feel like something was making pressure on my car, so when I do that, I back up,” Guzman said. “Then, I decide to park in another spot.”
Shortly after, Guzman realized she hit a low-hanging tree branch hovering over the first parking spot. She spoke to her manager about the incident, but he didn’t know what to do. Other people she talked to advised her to contact the Cape Coral Police Department.
“The district manager told him for me to make a report, an accident report… so I could file for a claim, so they could pay my damage. That’s what I did,” Guzman said.
But when Guzman met up with a police officer in January, the officer did something she never expected: he arrested her and charged her with a hit-and-run.
“Instead of doing my incident report, he took me to jail for that, for hitting and run,” Guzman said. “I feel frustrated because I think that it wasn’t fair.”
Guzman says the officer told her she should have left her name, car registration number and her phone number in a note hanging in the tree. He then handcuffed her and drove her to jail, where she got a mugshot taken. She had to pay $150 to bail out of jail.
“I would just cry and cry because I’m a person that never got in trouble,” Guzman said. “I don’t think that it was fair what they did to me. They ruined my life. I don’t eat well. I don’t sleep well.”
The police department said in a statement that the incident met the criteria for a hit-and-run. They added it’s ultimately up to the state attorney’s office to decide whether to charge the driver.
According to Florida law, a person who strikes a tree on private property and leaves the scene can face up to six months behind bars and a fine. There’s also a chance the person could get two points on his or her license.
Guzman says the state attorney’s office dropped the charges for insufficient evidence, but she still has to pay close to $4,300 in legal fees and car repair.
What can’t be dropped is the emotional toll this incident has had on her.
“I know that a lot of police officers are wonderful person, but I’m scared. That’s how I feel right now,” Guzman said.
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