More than a year after a hit-and-run car crash claimed the life of an elderly victim, Osceola County deputies Tuesday arrested a 40-year-old Kissimmee man believed to be responsible.
Deputies took Brian Janney, 40, of 2736 Eagle Canyon Drive South, into custody on a Florida Highway Patrol warrant charging him with Leaving the Scene with a Death and Tampering with Evidence. Authorities allege that Janney was the driver of a 2018 Volkswagen Passat that killed Pedro Santana, 78, as he was attempting to cross Pleasant Hill Road southbound at Earle Court about 4:30 a.m. on Oct. 22, 2023. The victim was not in a crosswalk when he was struck and the roadway was dark, but lit with streetlights.
According to reports, Santana suffered from dementia and had apparently wandered away from home. He was transported to Osceola Regional Medical Center where he died about an hour after the collision. The driver who hit Santana left the scene, according to reports, and a motorist who later saw Santana lying in the grass median stopped and called for emergency help.
FHP troopers were able to identify the make and model of the suspect’s vehicle based on debris left at the scene. This information helped analysts compile a list of potential similar vehicles in the area, which led troopers on Oct. 25 to the home of Brevelyne Osting who owned a Volkswagen Passat. Reports said Osting became “visibly shaken” when told such a vehicle had been involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident of a person, telling troopers “I wasn’t the driver.”
Janney then came to the door from inside the residence “appeared nervous” and told troopers he thought he had only struck a small animal, said reports. He led troopers to the vehicle, which was located inside a garage. Reports indicated that the car appeared to be deliberately concealed, as it was tightly parked in a space too small to typically accommodate a vehicle, with boxes strategically placed around it. The car also had damage consistent with evidence at the scene, as well as a shattered driver’s side windshield and “visible body tissue” present, said reports.
In his statement to FHP, Janney said he was driving home from work in Lakeland when he saw a “flash” and felt an impact, although he said he saw nothing when looking in his rearview mirror. Janney said he assumed he hit an animal and did not take any further action as he “had to go to work the next morning.”
DNA testing later confirmed that blood found on the vehicle’s windshield was a match to Santana. An arrest warrant for Janney was issued in December 2024 for leaving the scene and for evidence tampering for allegedly trying to hide the vehicle involved.
Although he has prior charges of driving with a suspended license, Janney’s license was valid at the time of the collision. His bond was set at $11,500 during an initial court appearance Wednesday.
