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Arrest made in deadly Jax Beach hit-and-run

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Nearly three weeks after popular Jacksonville Beach surfer Daniel Stein was struck and killed in a hit-and-run, police have made an arrest.

The Jacksonville Beach Police Department said 40 year-old Darrell DeJuen Lundy turned himself in Wednesday after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

The crash happened just before 2 a.m. on July 5.

According to Jacksonville Beach Police Chief Patrick Dooley, they were able to recover the vehicle suspected in the crash, a black Mercedes-Benz, in Neptune Beach the same day the crash happened.

Dooley called the discovery a major piece of the puzzle.

"That's where our physical evidence links the victim to the vehicle and the vehicle back to the victim," said Dooley.

Dooley said it is thanks to witnesses and the community coming forward with information that this case was solved.

"We can't do these without the help of witnesses and people who are willing to help us with the investigation," said Dooley.

Stein's friends were happy to hear about the arrest Thursday.
"It would be horrible to never know who did it," said Don Nichol.

But friend and co-worker Diwght Mosby said the road to justice isn't over.

"For now it's a little bit of closure. This is the beginning, he's been arrested, but there's no trial yet. This is the beginning of a whole other phase," said Mosby.

If Lundy is convicted, he could face a minimum mandatory sentence of four years in prison under a new law enacted July 5.

Dooley said it's a just law for people who flee the scene of a crash where someone was injured or killed.

"They left this man there to die, and absolutely there needs to be a severe punishment for that," said Dooley.

Lundy's next court date is Aug 14.

It is unclear if anyone else was in the car. Investigators said the case is still active, and more work needs to be done.