Armwood High senior killed in Hillsborough hit-and-run crash

A 17-year-old Armwood High senior was killed Saturday in a hit-and-run crash in Seffner.Elijah “Papo” Battiste died in a hospital after the three-vehicle crash on State Road 574, according to the Florida Highway Patrol and social media posts by family and friends.A Highway Patrol news release on the crash did not identify Battiste by name, referring to him as a 17-year-old Seffner resident.Battiste was driving a Volkswagen Passat west on SR 574, also known as East Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, near Chastain Road shortly before 11 p.m. when a man heading east in a Nissan Versa crossed the center line, troopers said. The two cars crashed nearly head-on and came to rest in the roadway. A person driving a Ford F-150 then crashed into Battiste’s Volkswagen. After that collision, the Ford driver left the scene on foot.Battiste and the Nissan driver, whom troopers did not name, were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Battiste later died there, troopers said.The Highway Patrol asked anyone with information about the Ford driver who left the scene to submit tips by dialing *FHP (347) on a cellphone or Crime Stoppers at **TIPS (8477).“Our Armwood HS students were reverent today after learning of the passing of Senior Elijah Battiste from a hit and run,” Hillsborough School Board member Lynn Gray said Monday in a Facebook post .Battiste played varsity baseball at Armwood. He also played soccer in the U.S. Virgin Islands Soccer Federation on its U20 Dashing Eagle team and in the Tampa Bay United Soccer Club , according to posts on the organizations’ Facebook pages.“Elijah was more than a player, he was a teammate, a friend, and a bright spirit who brought passion and pride to the game,” the Virgin Islands federation’s post said. “His presence on and off the field will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.”Battiste’s family also created a memorial page on the website everloved.com.