CAPE CORAL, Fla. -- Newly released reports document the actions of 19-year-old Logan Hetherington on the morning that 8-year-old Layla Aiken was killed by a hit and run driver while waiting for her school bus.
Hetherington was arrested May 23rd and charged with Leaving the Scene of a Traffic Crash with a Fatality, Vehicular Homicide, Possession of Cannabis Under 20 Grams and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. He was released the next day on bond.
The charges stem from an incident on March 25, 2109 at the corner of NE 3rd Avenue and 19th Terrace. Layla was sitting in the grass with her back toward the roadway near a stop sign early that morning, waiting for her school bus with her brothers. That's when witnesses say a red truck took a sharp turn at the intersection and hit Layla. The driver did not stop.
RELATED: Community remembers 8-year-old Layla Aiken
According to newly released reports, numerous surveillance cameras captured Hetherington's path to work that morning. He climbed into his red truck and left home at 6:14 a.m. and failed to stop at three stop signs before arriving at the intersection one minute later. A home surveillance camera captured the moment the truck passed through the intersection where Layla was struck and rolled over.
Other cameras captured the moment Hetherington arrived at work and used a light to inspect the front of his truck.
Investigators seized the phones of Hetherington, his girlfriend, and his father. Text messages from Logan indicate that he knew as early as 9 a.m. that his truck was suspected in the crash, but he made no effort to contact police.
In one series of text messages, he writes: "I looked on the news and it's the road we're I take the back way," "It was the back street road I took this morning," and "I'm going to ****ing jail."
Hetherington reportedly later searched the internet for "How It Works: The Computer Inside Your Car," "truck computer reads what," and "how hard do you have to hit a car to set off impact sensor."
Hetherington later was interviewed by investigators and admitted he drove his truck that morning along the route investigators say. When asked why he checked the front of his truck that morning, Logan said he was checking his tires to ensure he hadn't driven over a piece of wood or a nail.
Hetherington said he did not come forward because his lawyer told him not to speak to police because they would "twist his words."
RELATED: Parents, kids demand change at bus stops after death of 8-year-old
