ORLANDO, Fla. — A car involved in a fatal crash Saturday is registered to the same address of an apartment complex where Orlando police officers are investigating a homicide, according to a Florida Highway Patrol record.
A driver information exchange form shows the 2008 Ford Edge—which crashed into a tree on Kirkman Road around 9 p.m.—is registered to a woman who was found dead at an apartment complex on Timberleaf Boulevard, about a half-mile away from the crash site.
Orlando police said they began investigating a homicide at that complex Saturday. The homicide investigation started at 9:53 p.m., according to dispatch logs, a little less than an hour after troopers said the Ford crashed.
Police later identified the victim as 23-year-old Dacheka Merilard. They said her family found her body inside her apartment.
Within the same hour, Florida Highway Patrol troopers found her crashed SUV on fire.
Police did not say how Merilard died or if the investigation is connected to the fatal crash.
The investigation is still active and investigators are not saying if the driver is connected to the homicide two miles away.
A neighbor told Channel 9 that management sent out a notice saying there was a domestic violence incident and that both parties died.
Police have not confirmed that information.
Fiery Crash on Kirkman
The investigation into the fatal crash which set a building on fire in Orange County Saturday is still active, according to FHP.
Troopers said the crash occurred near the intersection of Kirkman Road and Washington Street.
The driver lost control while traveling north on Kirkman Road and crashed into a tree, lighting the car on fire, troopers said.
The fire from the crash then spread to a nearby building, a quarter of which suffered significant damage before the fire was extinguished, officials said.
Heather Paris lives next door to the building.
"We almost felt it because of the vibration of it all. Glass, you can hear everything through our house," she said.
Chuck Carmen, the owner of the building, said, thankfully, no one was inside because the crash didn't happen during business hours.
"We are going to get some people down here to get the merchandise out of the building, if it is secure enough for us to do so, get temporary storage and pay for that and try to save as much merchandise as we can," said Carmen.
Investigators said the State Fire Marshal’s Office was notified in addition to officials with the building and safety department.
Troopers have not yet determined what caused the crash and said the victim's body was badly burned.