Man arrested in deadly Florida crash

MIKE SCHNEIDER ap.org Four-year-old Lily Quintus loved princesses, ranch dressing - on everything - and "Star Wars," said her mother, whose pleas and those of others were answered when a driver police say caused the crash that killed the girl at her Florida day care surrendered to authorities. A manhunt across Florida ended Thursday with the arrest of Robert Alex Corchado, 28. He was charged with leaving the scene of a deadly accident almost precisely 24 hours after the KinderCare facility in Winter Park was torn open in the wreck, killing the girl who was sitting in a classroom awaiting her afternoon snack. Fourteen others were injured, most of them children. Corchado was being held on $100,000 bond, according to the Orange County Corrections Department. His attorney confirmed that his client turned himself in but declined to comment further. A bond hearing was set for Friday morning, according to a statement from the Florida Highway Patrol. Police say Corchado, 28, of Winter Park, crashed his Dodge Durango into a convertible, which in turn smashed into the KinderCare building. Authorities had pleaded for the suspect to give up as they blanketed the state searching for him. Nicole Quintus, whose daughter, Lily, was killed, joined those pleas. "Families are emotionally destroyed because of what he did," she said in an interview with The Associated Press. The mother softly sobbed as she spoke of her daughter. She said Lily also loved the TV series "Doctor Who" and put ranch dressing on even pizza and hot dogs. Nicole Quintus said a teacher called her soon after the crash, screaming but unable to say what happened. "One minute everything was normal, and the next there was an explosion and smoke and screams," she said... Corchado has been arrested eight times since 2000. Department of Corrections records show he served prison time for trafficking cocaine and extortion. He most recently was arrested in December on a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving damage, a felony charge of selling narcotics, and felony marijuana possession. He was released on more than $10,000 bond and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was due back in court in May. to read more: ap.org