Good Samaritan’s pickup stolen while helping crash victims

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Investigators say a 27-year-old Florida man caused a crash on Interstate 95 and then stole a pickup truck from a man who stopped to help.

Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes said in a statement that 27-year-old Zachary Searls hit a van in front of him Monday night. Searls’ car then hit a tree and caught fire.

Montes says 52-year-old Felix Coffman stopped to help. When Coffman got out of his truck, Searls got in it and drove away, Montes says.

Volusia County Sheriff’s deputies say they found the truck parked outside Searls’ home a short time later and arrested him. He’s charged with several offences including grand theft of a motor vehicle and is being held on a $6,000 bond.

No attorney for Searls was listed in court records.

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