A man who claimed to be a psychic, Patrick Lutts Jr., allegedly smashed his truck into a vehicle back in 1998 while driving under the influence. As a result, two teenagers, ages 19 and 18, died. After skipping a 2003 hearing, Lutts has been on the run for more than 21 years. Now, he has been arrested and awaits extradition to Florida.
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According to the CBC, Lutts was involved in the fatal car crash in Orlando, Florida, back in Christmas Day 1998. Allegedly, Lutts was driving under the influence, resulting in him crashing his truck into a vehicle, killing 19-year-old Nancy Lopez and 18-year-old Darvin DeJesus-Taboada.
As reported by the outlet, Lutt’s blood alcohol level registered 0.272, exceeding the legal limit by three times. While Florida authorities charged him with manslaughter, Lutts was nowhere to be found for 4 years. Eventually, he was back on the police radar in 2002 when he was involved in a similar impaired-driving crash in Connecticut.
20+ Years On The Run
Lutts was arrested at the time and was sent back to Florida. He posted a $5,000 bond and was released. Lutts was supposed to appear in court for his plea hearing scheduled on October 1, 2023. However, the man never made it. Instead, he disappeared completely.
The CBC revealed that, months later, in 2004, Lutts traveled to Canada with no passport and settled in Toronto. He stayed there, undisturbed, for 19 years.
Reportedly, at one point, he started to provide relationship advice by posing as an online psychic, going by the alias Pat Lighthelp. He earned $4.50 per minute for providing his online psychic sessions.
Eventually, authorities managed to pinpoint Lutts’s location after receiving a tip from a U.S.-based internet investigator. As per the CBC, the individual claimed to have used facial recognition technology to track down Lutts in Toronto back in November 2023.
More than a year later, after being placed under surveillance, police managed to arrest Patrick Lutts Jr. in February 2025. Currently, the Florida man is expected to be extradited to Florida. However, as of June 1, no formal extradition hearing has been scheduled. Lutts, however, was denied bail and remains in custody.