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Errant 911 Call Leads To Hit & Run Suspect's Arrest

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The driver of a SUV which ran down two men in a Hallandale Beach restaurant parking lot last February was arrested in Georgia after he accidentally dialed 911.

During an appearance in bond court on Thursday, Judge John Hurley ordered that 61-year old Vagiff Safarov of Hollywood be held on a $150,00 bond, according to the Sun-Sentinel. If he does make bond, Safarov will have to wearing a GPS monitoring bracelet.

Police have been looking for Safarov since February 12th when he reportedly ran into two men with his Suzuki Vitara SUV in the parking of Flanigan's Seafood Bar & Grill on N Federal Highway.

Efrain Lopez was launched into the air due to the accident and ended up with a fractured skull.

"They say I flew ten feet in the air. He ran me over twice after that. And he ran over my hands and my legs and my back," said Lopez after the accident.

He died days later.

Hallandale Beach Police want to know if Lopez died from his injuries. Chief Dwayne Flournoy tells CBS 4 that the police expect to learn on Friday from the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office whether the injuries were the cause.

Flournoy said if that's the case, they will likely charge Safarov with murder.

Lopez's mother, Rosario Torres, told CBS 4's Carey Codd that her son was suffering from his head trauma in the days before he died.

I'm feeling dizzy," she remembers her son saying. "Big headaches. I don't know what's going on."

Torres said her son was also becoming forgetful.

Torres said she misses her son's daily phone calls and says her son's children are devastated by his death. For this mother, her pain is constant.

"You never think you're going to bury your son," Torres said through tears.

According to investigators on March 12th, police in Gwinnet County officers were sent to check out a residence in Norcross after a person called 911 and then hung up. When the emergency operator tried to call the number back, there was no answer.

When the officer arrived he saw Safarov getting into a van, according to his report. When the officer met with him at a home, he ran the man's name through a national database and found there was a warrant out for his arrest.

Safarov was taken into custody and charged with three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.

The second person hit, Joby Paul-Benson, suffered a broken wrist.

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