Vulnerable road users face immense risks every time they share the asphalt with heavy passenger vehicles. That danger became a horrifying reality for a teenager in the Greater Orlando, Florida, area late last year. Now, a Winter Park High School instructor is dealing with severe legal fallout after local authorities connected him to a horrific hit-and-run that left a youth with a fractured spine.
The collision happened the morning of December 11, 2025. According to reports from WFTV, 15-year-old Landon Cates was traveling on his scooter near the bustling Casselberry intersection of State Road 436 and Casselton Drive. It was there that 49-year-old Benjamin Fottler allegedly hit the teenager with his vehicle before driving away from the scene, leaving the teenager with no help.
The Suspect’s “Sign” Defense
Law enforcement affidavits state that Fottler did eventually call the police later that day. Instead, he claimed complete ignorance regarding the injured teenager. The educator allegedly told dispatchers that he assumed he had simply clipped a piece of road infrastructure while executing a turn.
“I hit, I thought, a sign in the median that damaged my rearview passenger mirror — I’m sorry, driver-side mirror,” Fottler stated in an audio recording acquired by local news outlets.
Fottler further explained to investigators that he did not stop to confirm what his car had actually hit because his young daughter was sitting in the back seat. Instead, he simply continued to drop her off at a local daycare center before continuing on to work.
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A Broken Back and a Delayed Arrest
While Fottler continued his morning commute, Cates was left suffering in the roadway with heavy bruising, severe scrapes, and fractured vertebrae. Speaking with Fox 35 Orlando, the teenager detailed how the sheer shock of the impact temporarily masked the severity of his injuries.
“Originally, I didn’t know my back was broken,” Cates explained. “I thought I was fine. That was the adrenaline talking. Right after it went away, I did not feel good. It hurt and it sucked bad.”
Cates added that a good Samaritan rushed over immediately following the crash. According to the teen, the witness was stunned by the driver’s aggressive departure.
“She was like, ‘Oh my God, the dude that hit you just sped off like pedal to the metal’ right when he hit me,” Cates recalled.
It took exactly three months for charges to take place. On March 10, 2026, officers officially apprehended Fottler, charging him with a felony for leaving the scene of a crash. Court documents show he quickly bonded out of jail for $20,000.
Despite the severity of the allegations, Orange County Public Schools representatives confirmed to the media that Fottler remains actively employed and is not currently on administrative leave, citing the fact that the December hit-and-run took place while he wasn’t working.
