Florida ballroom dancer hit motorcyclist then drove off with bike stuck to her car, police say
A Florida woman was arrested for a hit-and-run after she struck a motorcyclist in West Melbourne, Florida, according to police.
Rebekah Mackenzie Tate, 23, allegedly hit a 34-year-old motorcyclist so hard early Sunday morning that his helmet flew off, and he was left in the middle of the roadway.
Tate, who says she’s a professional ballroom dancer, harpist and pianist on her Instagram, was charged with leaving a crash with great bodily harm and tampering with evidence in a criminal proceeding, according to jail records.
"Instead of remaining on scene or calling 911, Tate can be seen driving away with the motorcycle still attached to the front of her vehicle," a news release from the West Melbourne Police Department said.
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A Florida woman was arrested for a hit-and-run after she struck a motorcyclist in West Melbourne, Fla, according to police. (West Melbourne Police Department)
She then pulled her vehicle into a parking lot and was seen on surveillance video trying to remove the motorcycle from under her car before she was picked up by someone in another car, police said.
She was booked into the Brevard County Jail Wednesday on $17,500 bond and was bailed out by Friday while awaiting trial.
Tate pleaded not guilty on Thursday, according to the New York Post.
A woman who said she was the victim’s mother wrote a comment on the police department’s Facebook post about the arrest.
"I couldn’t care less what her circumstances were," she wrote. "She left my son to die in the middle of the road. She has been caught on video tampering with evidence and trying to hide. My son was in the ICU on a ventilator."
Rebekah Mackenzie Tate, 23, in her booking photo. (West Melbourne Police Department)
She added that it could take her son six months to a year for him to "walk normally again. IF he ever does. I have ZERO sympathy for this woman and I look forward to seeing her pay for what she did to my son."
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Billy LeBlanc, a DoorDash driver who came across the victim lying in the road after the accident, told FOX 35 he helped the victim until paramedics arrived.
"I wouldn't wish that on anybody, but I'm glad I was there because I was able to help him," LeBlanc told the station. "I'm glad they caught her."
He told WKMG-TV, "I hope that anyone would do that if they came across something like that, and I think most people would. It’s just sad that somebody would actually leave them there like that. Motionless and not help them."
He said Tate was "obviously scared" after she hit the victim, but she should have at least called 911.
The suspect was seen on surveillance video trying to remove the motorcycle from under her car before she was picked up by someone in another car, police said. (West Melbourne Police Department)
"I’m glad I was there at the right time, and I was able to help him," LeBlanc said. "I'm glad he's alive. I'm glad he's – he's a strong guy, obviously, because she hit him hard."
He told WKMG he kept telling the victim, "Keep being strong. I was just telling him, ‘Hang in there. The ambulance is on the way. Just be strong, man.' He’s fighting."
FOX 35 identified the victim as John Powell, citing friends.
Powell's friend Leah Lindstrand was incredulous.
"She left him to die. Like how could you?" she told FOX 35. "Essentially both of his legs don't work. He's got one big fracture on the left leg, another on the right leg. I know he's got rib fractures. It broke my heart to see him like that, but he's doing better, so that's good."
Powell was out of the ICU by Thursday, FOX 35 reported.
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Tate is expected back in court Oct. 1.
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