Prosecutors drop charges against man accused in Fort Lauderdale hit-and-run
Broward prosecutors dropped charges on Monday against a Fort Lauderdale man who was accused of fleeing the scene of a fatal accident on Sunrise Boulevard two years ago.
Bryan Robert, 33, was not in court to hear the formal announcement, but his lawyer, Robert Buschel, broke the news during a phone call last Friday.
“I just screamed, like a joyous scream,” Robert said. “The weight that was lifted off of my soul was tremendous. This ordeal was not for the faint of heart.”
Robert had been charged with a first-degree felony and faced 30 years in prison if convicted.
The charges baffled Robert, who insisted he was not at the scene of the accident on May 18, 2022. But a witness described Robert’s Chevrolet Traverse as the vehicle that struck and killed Ernson Jean, 52, a homeless man who was drunk and either sitting or lying on the roadway just after midnight.
The witness also took a video of the Traverse and provided it to the police.
“I have zero clue where I am in that video,” Robert said. “There are no landmarks that show where I was. It’s just the back of my car, and she could have taken that video anywhere.”
Robert told investigators who showed up at his home shortly after the accident that his vehicle had no damage.
In a memo outlining the reasons to drop the case, Assistant State Attorney Ross Weiner said the witness who identified Robert’s vehicle was not reliable.
“The state cannot prove the defendant was the driver of a vehicle that was involved in the crash,” Weiner wrote. “Based on the lack of physical evidence, the state would not be able to prove the defendant knew he was involved in a crash in this case.”
Robert said he has not ruled out pursuing legal action but has not finished discussing it with his attorney.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.