Son of Sheriff’s Chief Deputy facing vehicular homicide charges

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    FORT PIERCE, Florida (WPBF) — The son of St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy was taken into police custody following a fatal crash on Indian River Drive in Fort Pierce, officials said.

According to Fort Pierce Police, the incident happened on Feb. 7 at 5:25 p.m.

Officials said Ryan Luke Hester, 19, was driving a Ford F-150 Pickup truck and was traveling south on Indian River Drive, when he crossed into the northbound lane and struck a Nissan Altima head-on.

Both Hester and the driver were taken to the hospital.

Hester suffered non-life-threatening injuries, while the 32-year-old female driver died.

Hester has been charged with one count of DUI manslaughter and one count of vehicular homicide.

He is the son of Brian Hester, who is also running for St. Lucie County Sheriff.

He released a statement Thursday morning:

“Last night, my adult son, Luke Hester, voluntarily surrendered himself to the St. Lucie County jail for warrants issued by the Fort Pierce Police Department related to a tragic auto crash that occurred on February 8 and resulted in the death of a young woman. We understand that there are and will be rumors and questions surrounding this, so in the interest of transparency, we wanted you to hear about it from us first. We know and trust that our justice system is a fair one, that individuals must be held accountable for their actions, and we continue to pray and ask for prayers for everyone involved, especially the family who lost a loved one. We appreciate your support and respect for our privacy as we work through this together as a family.”

Hester is being held on $200,000 bond.

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