It was still dark over Polk County when deputies got the call. Just after 3 a.m. on April 23, 2026, emergency crews were sent out to a quiet stretch of Fussell Road, a little east of Commonwealth Avenue. What they found there would turn into a long and difficult investigation.
Lying on the roadway was 39-year-old Brandon Roy Moran of Polk City. He had been riding his Polaris Sportsman 400 ATV earlier that morning. By the time first responders arrived, Moran was already gone. Officials later confirmed he died at the scene.
Investigators say Moran suffered severe head injuries during the crash. Early findings suggest he lost control of the ATV for reasons that are still not clear. At some point, he was thrown from the vehicle and hit the pavement hard.
But that was not the end of it. Detectives believe Moran may have been lying on the road for some time after the crash. During that window, a second vehicle appears to have passed through the area and struck him.
That driver did not stop. Authorities now say it is possible the person behind the wheel did not even realize they had hit someone in the darkness.
For hours, Fussell Road stayed shut down as deputies worked the scene. The Traffic Homicide Unit carefully examined every detail, trying to piece together exactly what happened in those early morning moments.
Right now, investigators are still working to understand what caused Moran to lose control and to identify the driver of the second vehicle. What began as a single-vehicle crash may now be a complex case involving a possible hit-and-run, leaving a family without answers and a community searching for clarity.
