A 24-year-old ballroom dancer from Palm Bay, Florida, has been arrested after allegedly leaving the scene of a serious motorcycle crash in West Melbourne and tampering with evidence in a car dealership parking lot.
Ballroom dancer caught tampering with evidence
On Wednesday, Rebekah Makenzie Tate was taken into custody on charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury and tampering with evidence, both felonies.
The crash occurred in the early hours of Sept. 1, during Labor Day weekend.
According to the West Melbourne Police Department, Tate was driving a 2015 Toyota RAV4 on U.S. Route 192 when she allegedly struck a 34-year-old motorcyclist in the middle of an intersection.
The crash sent the victim, along with his helmet, flying into the road, leaving him with life-threatening injuries.
Despite the severity of the crash, authorities say Tate did not stop to help the man, nor did she call the police.
Instead, she continued driving with the motorcycle lodged underneath her vehicle.
Tate reportedly drove to the parking lot of Coastal Hyundai, where she attempted to remove the motorcycle from the front of her car in what police described as an effort to conceal the accident.
Ballroom dancer caught on tape tampering with evidence
An arrest affidavit details the extent of the injuries suffered by the motorcyclist, who remains in critical condition.
The victim sustained several bone fractures and other serious bodily injuries.
Meanwhile, surveillance footage from the dealership captured Tate’s attempt to dislodge the motorcycle from her vehicle, which was unsuccessful.
Tate was also seen on camera talking on her cell phone before a black sedan arrived to pick her up.
According to the affidavit, she fled the scene before law enforcement could arrive.
“The defendant did not call 911 or stay on the scene of the crash. The defendant left without providing aide or any information,” the document noted.
Following the crash, investigators quickly pieced together the events leading to Tate’s arrest.
They allege that her actions at the dealership constituted an attempt to alter or destroy evidence, which resulted in the additional tampering charge.
West Melbourne Police shared a photo showing the motorcycle still lodged beneath the front of Tate’s vehicle, evidence they say underscores her attempt to cover up the crime.
Ballroom dancer left victim behind
The man Tate allegedly hit was rescued by a DoorDash driver who saw him laying in the middle of the intersection where the crash occurred.
“Is there any other vehicles around?” a 911 dispatcher asked Billy LeBlanc when he called in the accident. “Nothing, I don’t see anybody. Someone just left him here, unfortunately.”
“I just see someone laying in the road. I was about to take a right-hand turn. I would have run him over if I didn’t see him, but I noticed him on the road laying there,” LeBlanc added.
He told the dispatcher that he believed the man was “dead,” because he was face down and not moving.
“I made an attempt to get a pulse on his wrist,” he told WESH 2. “I didn’t feel anything. At that point, I figured I would just try to roll him over and give him CPR and give him the best chance he could have.”
The victim ended up pulling through and remains hospitalized in critical condition as of three days after the incident, battling the severe injuries he sustained in the crash.
“I was glad I was in the right spot at the right time to help him out,” Leblanc remarked.
“It feels good to know he survived because when I got there, it looked like he was not going to make it.”
Tate was arrested on Wednesday and booked into the Brevard County Jail.
Her bond was set at $17,500, and she was released shortly after posting bail.
According to court records, her arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 1 at 8:00 a.m.
