Man charged in Porsche crash that left friend dead: 'I think I just killed my friend'
A Florida man was jailed more than a year after a horrific wreck involving his Porsche Boxster sports car left his friend dead, according to state court records and local authorities.
Zachary Edward Kreusch, 21, was arrested Monday and charged with vehicular homicide, Seminole County court records show. Kreusch is accused of killing Dylan Charles Astacio, 20, in a single-vehicle crash on May 16, 2023, at 10:42 p.m. in Chuluota, Florida, according to an arrest report filed July 18 by Florida Highway Patrol officer T.J. Jateff.
Kreush was driving the two-door Porsche Boxster while Astacio was the lone passenger in the vehicle, Jateff said in the report obtained by USA TODAY. The trooper who responded to the scene told Jateff that the Porsche was traveling west when the vehicle hit a tree and the fence of a nearby field before becoming engulfed in flames, according to the document.
The officer located Astacio underneath the right side of the Porsche, Jateff said in the report. It was dark in the area of the crash and there were no street lights, the document continued.
Astacio died from blunt impact of the head, torso and extremities, a medical examiner in Florida said, per the arrest report. The manner of death was initially ruled an accident, Jateff said in the report.
Florida Highway Patrol concluded its investigation on July 18 and recommended Kreush be charged with vehicular homicide instead, according to the report. USA TODAY reached out to the highway patrol for more info on the timing of the investigation.
USA TODAY also contacted Kreush's attorney but has not yet received a response.
'It was my fault'
Kreush's 911 call immediately after the crash led to investigators later determining he was at fault for the wreck and Astacio's death. During the call with the 911 operator, he said, "I was driving my mom's new car and my friend wanted to see how fast it could go."
"So, I started it down the road and we lost control," the call continued, per the arrest report. "And it went into the ditch and it flipped, went over the fence and my friend is stuck and he's not breathing. I think I just killed my friend."
When a deputy later that night asked Kreush if he was in the car with Astacio, he responded, "Yes I was, It was my fault," according to the report. He then spontaneously said, "I have his blood on my hands."
While talking aloud to himself, the deputy heard Kreush repeatedly say, "I'm so sorry," Jateff wrote in the report.
Jateff's recommendation that Kreush be charged with vehicular homicide stemmed from him "not operating (the Porsche) in a careful and prudent manner prior to the crash."
Kreush, who was given a $15,000 bond, is scheduled to be arraigned on Aug. 27.