A 20-year-old man was arrested Christmas night in connection to the death of a Palmetto High football player.
According to the Palmetto police, Roberto Betancourt has been arrested in the death of Kyle O’Halloran. They say O’Halloran was killed Thursday afternoon in an incident involving a vehicle outside his home in the 1800 block of 14th Avenue West.
He was killed after confronting a vehicle that pulled into his driveway.
Witnesses tell police that they saw O’Halloran hanging outside the window of a Lincoln Town Car driving north on 14th Ave. West. His head hit the pavement and he later died.
He was a popular player at Palmetto High and had recently signed a scholarship to play in college.
According to detectives, O’Halloran was involved in an altercation with the passengers of the Town Car and he grabbed hold of the car as it was leaving the driveway.
According to police, Betancourt, the driver, deliberately drove away with O’Halloran hanging on. He also failed to stop and help after O’Halloran fell, as well as report the incident.
Betancourt was arrested and charged with vehicular homicide, leaving the scene of a crash involving a death, reckless driving, and driving with no valid driver’s license.
He was booked into the Manatee County Jail as an investigation is ongoing. O’Halloran’s death is not being ruled a homicide as of yet.
We pause to remember Kyle O'Halloran. We are collecting details and will issue a statement soon. Please keep Kyle and his family in prayer.
— Palmetto High Sports (@PalmettoHigh) December 26, 2014
