Quiggle Court Appearance Set For Wednesday

SEBRING A Sebring resident charged in connection with the November hit-and-run death of an Avon Park man will next appear in court Wednesday.

David Allan Quiggle Jr., 32, of 213 S. Commerce Ave., Sebring, is charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving a death. He is set for a pretrial conference Wednesday.

Quiggle's previous court appearance was on Feb. 5 for a bond hearing, where a motion was granted to reduce the defendant's bond, according to court records.

He was released that same day on a $50,000 bond.

The charges stem from a Nov. 3, 2008, incident, where officers with the Sebring Police Department responded to a hit-and-run report at 1920 Melady Ave. When they arrived, the body of Edwin Vega, 34, was found in the road. He was pronounced dead on scene by responding emergency medical personnel.

Witnesses told police that Quiggle and Vega had been fighting before onlookers broke the two up.

Quiggle returned to his car, but Vega eventually broke loose from the witnesses, approached the suspect's car, leaned in the front window and kept fighting, according to the arrest report.

Witnesses said an unknown front seat passenger grabbed a hold of Vega as Quiggle drove off, with the victim hanging on the left side of the car.

Vega's feet started dragging and he fell from the car. The car's left rear tire then reportedly ran over his head.

The fight allegedly started after one of the passengers in Quiggle's car tried to get out and accidently hit Vega with the door, which caused the victim to slam the door on her, the report stated.

When the passenger tried to get out a second time, Vega reportedly slammed the door shut on her again, thus leading to the confrontation.