By Tamas Mondovics
Seffner resident Linda Kay Fisher, 46, was walking northbound along Black Dairy Road near her home when she was struck and killed by a vehicle just north of Russell Drive.
Fisher was found in the ditch on the east side of the roadway early on Monday, November 11.
Aside from the tragedy, the driver made a decision that was not much better; he fled the scene undetected, which then turned the accident into a fatal hit and run.
The wrong choice was not the end of the sequence of events that eventually led to the identification and arrest of Fisher’s nearby neighbor, Henry Earl Riner, 72, of 6325 Black Dairy Road in Seffner.
According to Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Homicide detectives, the incident occurred on Sunday, November 10, at approximately 11:30 p.m.
HCSO Corporal Larry McKinnon said that evidence at the scene indicated the vehicle could be red or orange.
It took a little more than a week for detectives to find Riner. The break in the case came from a Crime Stoppers tip on Tuesday, November 19, leading to the discovery of a 1966 Chevrolet Pick Up truck with damage consistent of the collision that killed Fisher.
Detectives said the suspect painted the truck black. Further investigation then led to the arrest of Riner for leaving the scene of a crash with death and tampering with evidence.
Riner was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail and charged with the crime.
Less than a week after Fisher’s death, HCSO detectives received a call in the Dover area to investigate another hit and run incident.
HCSO reported that a man was riding his bicycle on Sydney Washer Road at Fietzway Road when he was struck and killed by an unknown vehicle which fled the scene.
A mirror from a 1990s Dodge truck or van was at the scene.
Anyone with any information reference the suspect to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at 247-8200.
Call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) at www.crimestopperstb.com.
