Lakeland, Florida – Polk County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Michael J. Marrero, 28, of Lakeland for violation of his bond. According to the arrest affidavit Marrero Failed To Comply with his pre-trail release. Marrero was originally arrested in 2017 for alleged street racing incident on July 9, 2016 that killed 3 people.
The original arrest and charges came after a nine-month investigation of the accident, which took place on U.S. 98 North. The accident took the life of Christopher Stewart Jr., 22, and his girlfriend, Kathrine Pitock, 22, of Lakeland, who were declared dead at the scene of the accident that happened shortly before midnight. Brittany Lewis, 25, of Lakeland, died a couple of hours later at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center.
Marrero is accused of racing his orange Volkswagen GTI south on U.S. 98 against another car, thought to be a white Mustang, according to police reports. That driver has not been identified at this time. According to witnesses said Marrero was traveling at very high rate of speed when the accident occurred. According to reports one witness reported the Mustang appeared to cut in front of Marrero’s Volkswagen, causing him to lose control and enter the northbound lane.
The Volkswagen struck the left front of a blue Nissan Sentra traveling northbound in the middle lane of U.S. 98. Stewart drove the Sentra with Pitock beside him and Lewis in the rear seat, the report said. The impact caused the Nissan to spin and flip over, propelling it about 30 feet off the road before coming to rest. Marrero’s Volkswagen traveled 49 feet from the impact. Marrero also was injured and treated at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center.
According to reports a traffic reconstruction analysis concluded the Volkswagen was traveling at least 73 miles per hour at the beginning of skid marks with an impact speed of about 65 miles per hour. The posted speed limit is 45 miles per hour.
Marrero has a multiple court hearing dates in July, stemming from these cases.
