A pair of school crossing guards, 52-year-old Nicholas Gallicchio of Spring Hill and Donald Jenkins, 82, of Weeki Wachee, are being treated for their injuries after being involved in a hit-and-run traffic incident in Spring Hill.
Denise Moloney, public relations manager for the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO), said that just after 4 p.m. on Feb.14, the agency received several 9-1-1 calls from witnesses who reported seeing a motorist driving a tan sedan erratically near Deltona and Northcliffe boulevards in Spring Hill before striking two school crossing guards who were standing in the grassy median at the intersection.
The crossing guards were on duty for nearby Fox Chapel Middle School and Explorer K-8, as the dismissal time for both schools is 4:10 pm.
Afterward, the driver of the sedan, identified as 54-year-old Robert Noack, fled south on Deltona Boulevard but struck a concrete drainage cover on the southwest corner of the intersection while trying to leave the scene. That collision caused oil to pour from the undercarriage of the vehicle, identified as a Ford Focus.
Credit: HCSO
A few blocks south of that collision, the vehicle became inoperable and Noack subsequently fled on foot, Moloney said.
Deputies quickly located Noack, who denied being the driver of the sedan.
Troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) were called to investigate the incident.
At the scene, Troopers found one Oxycodone pill in Noack’s pocket, said FHP Public Affairs Officer (PAO) Sgt. Steve Gaskins.
He was subsequently booked into the Hernando County Detention Center and charged with felony hit and run, leaving the scene of a crash, and driving while intoxicated (DUI), resulting in serious bodily injury to another, DUI resulting in property damage and possession of drugs without a prescription.
He is being held without bond.
Meanwhile, Gallicchio and Jenkins were taken to a local trauma center where Jenkins’ injuries were listed as serious, and Gallicchio’s were listed as minor, Moloney said.
