Sarasota man said he was moving to Miami. Instead he spent the night in jail

Friday the 13th is off to a rough start for one Sarasota man who is facing charges after he crashed the moving truck he was driving into a St. Petersburg hotel parking garage, causing “substantial damage.”

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to Hotel Zamora, 3701 Gulf Blvd. in St. Pete Beach, around 12:49 a.m. Friday after reports of a moving truck striking the hotel’s parking garage and taking off.

Edgar A. Hidalgo, 32, of Sarasota, told deputies he had been to a party at the hotel and was driving a friend in the passenger seat back to their vehicle that was parked inside the garage. The moving truck struck the parking garage drop ceiling, causing “substantial damage” to the garage and damaging the truck, according to the sheriff’s office.

Rather than stay at the crash scene, Hidalgo hid the moving truck until deputies investigating the crash left the area, according to the sheriff’s office.

Witnesses gave deputies a description of the truck. Hours later, deputies stopped a 10-foot moving truck with roof damage on Gulf Winds Drive at 64th Avenue in St. Pete Beach around 2:15 a.m. driven by Hidalgo, according to the sheriff’s office.

Hidalgo told officials he planned to move to Miami that morning, but instead he was taken to the Pinellas County jail.

He was charged with one count of leaving the scene of a crash with property damage, one count of DUI and one count of possession of cocaine.

This story was originally published October 13, 2017 at 8:13 AM with the headline "Sarasota man said he was moving to Miami. Instead he spent the night in jail."