Bayfront crash ends with death, arrest

A man crashed his car into a taxi on Bayfront Drive early Saturday, which resulted in a passenger’s death.

Sarasota County deputies caught 29-year-old Curt Lee Rud trying to flee the accident near the intersection of Bayfront Drive and Main Street after 2 a.m. Rud drove his 2008 Dodge Avenger in the wrong lane and struck a cab with five passengers head on, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Emergency personnel transported 51-year-old James Elias and Kimberly Senna, 43, by helicopter to Blake Medical Center, where Elias was pronounced dead before 5 a.m. Brian Krach, the 44-year-old taxi driver, is in stable condition at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, while Lori Elias and Lisa Alves, both 53, were treated for minor injuries and fractures, according to a Sarasota Police Department news release.

Sarasota Police have charged Rud with leaving the scene of a crash involving a death, a felony and driving with a suspended license with knowledge.