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Shelbyville child struck, killed on vacation trip

By DAVID MELSON - dmelson@t-g.com
Posted 3/31/22

A 4-year-old child from Shelbyville vacationing with her family in Panama City Beach, Florida was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver Tuesday.

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Shelbyville child struck, killed on vacation trip

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A 4-year-old child from Shelbyville vacationing with her family in Panama City Beach, Florida was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver Tuesday.

Marlina Catherine Anspach was in the parking lot of Breakfast Point Marketplace when she was hit by a truck, Panama City Beach police said. Family members posted her name and that she had been killed on social media but declined further comment when contacted by the T-G, stating police told them not to talk to news media.

The family has returned to Shelbyville and is making funeral arrangements, according to social media posts.

Kenneth Martinez, 62, of Panama City was arrested later in the day Tuesday, Panama City Beach police said.

Arrest records show Martinez was driving a lifted four-wheel-drive truck while talking to his wife on a cellphone. Martinez told his wife he thought he’d struck an animal, police said.

Police were able to obtain the license number of Martinez’s truck from traffic cameras. He was found with the help of officials at Tyndall Air Force Base, where he works as a civilian contractor, WMBB-TV reported.

“He provided little to no remorse of the situation,” Panama City Beach Police Chief J.R. Talamantez said.  “The way he behaved himself, his lack of remorse for the situation, this is a bad guy .”