Suspect In FL Day Care Crash Surrenders, Has Alleged Ties To Latin Kings Gangs

Booking photo of Robert Alex Corchado, Thursday, April 10, 2014. (ap)

Robert Alex Corchado, whom police say caused a deadly crash at a Florida day care center on Wednesday and then fled, surrendered at the Orange County Jail.

Corchado, 28, turned himself in on Thursday, said the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Police agencies across the state had been searching for Corchado since the crash that killed a 4-year-old girl and injured 14 other people, most of them children. The little girl who died was identified as Lily Quintus.

The Florida Highway Patrol says Corchado slammed into a convertible, which then smashed into the KinderCare building north of Orlando.

Records show he's been arrested eight times since 2000, including in December when he was charged with leaving the scene of another crash.

Florida Highway Patrol Maj. Cindy Williams said Corchado was linked with the Latin Kings gang and could have been aided by other members.

Corchado was driving a Dodge Durango on Wednesday, authorities said, when he hit a car, which then slammed into KinderCare.

He fled the scene, leaving his Dodge and then rented another vehicle, authorities said.

Authorities — and the mother of the little girl who was killed — pleaded for the suspect to give up, even as they blanketed the state searching for him.

Nicole Quintus, the mother of the little girl, said Corchado was responsible for heartbreak.

"Families are emotionally destroyed because of what he did," she said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Department of Corrections records show Corchado served prison time for trafficking cocaine and extortion. He most recently was arrested in December on a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving damage, a felony charge of selling narcotics, and felony marijuana possession. He was released on more than $10,000 bond and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was due back in court in May.

Ten people remain hospitalized from the crash, including one child who remains in critical condition and two others who are listed in serious condition, according to the patrol.

The day care's website says the center provides childcare for children up to 12 years old and has been in the community for more than 25 years.

Based on reporting by The Associated Press.