Troopers arrest man in hit-and-run that killed Bradenton woman

Troopers have arrested a Bradenton man following a fatal hit-and-run crash in Manatee County earlier this week, according to Florida Highway Patrol.

Richard Aaron Richardson, 42, was taken into custody on Wednesday and booked into the Manatee County Jail.

Around 6:30 a.m. Monday, a 34-year-old Bradenton woman was attempting to cross six lanes of traffic on U.S. 41 near Bayshore Gardens Parkway, troopers say, when she was struck by a northbound pickup truck. The driver left the scene, where the woman later died. FHP did not identify the woman.

Authorities had searched since Monday for the driver of the Ford F-250 pickup truck that was involved in the fatal collision.

FHP released a surveillance image of the pickup on Monday afternoon. After receiving a tip, troopers were able to locate and impound the vehicle in a Bradenton neighborhood on Tuesday.

Richardson faces a felony charge for leaving the scene of an accident involving death as well as a charge for driving with a suspended license.

Richardson was arrested in 2012 on charges of possession of a controlled substance and resisting an officer without violence, according to Manatee County Sheriff’s Office records, and in 2010 for multiple charges including burglary of an unoccupied structure.

This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 6:26 PM.