Driver hits pedestrian
PALMETTO, FL- Wfla.com writes that a man who struck and killed two pedestrians, including a young teenager, was arrested this week. The driver, identified as a 45-year-old man, is facing charges for the tragic crash, including two counts of fleeing the scene of a fatal collision, one count of fleeing the scene of a crash causing severe bodily injury and another for tampering with evidence.
The pedestrian accident took place when the victims, a thirteen-year-old and a 47-year-old, were walking on the shoulder of the roadway on US 19. The group had been fishing and were heading home when a Chevrolet Silverado veered off the road and struck three individuals. The driver then continued to drive away from the site of the collision.
The day after the wreck, the suspect phoned the police to explain why he did not stop after striking the victims. According to the suspect, he believed that he had struck a deer rather than three people.
Hit-and-run crashes have been rising in the United States, and Florida has had more of these tragedies than most places in the country. The Sunshine State has the third-highest number of these crashes, following only Louisiana and New Mexico.
It is not entirely clear why these tragic deaths are continuing to rise each year, but on average, the number of such incidents increased 7.2 percent every year since 2009.
Pedestrians are more likely than any other road user to be the victim in a hit-and-run collision. The reason that pedestrians are the most likely victims is largely the ability of a driver to flee after a deadly crash.
New York | Brooklyn | Queens | Long Island | New Jersey | Florida
Call us at: 1-800-YOURLAWYER (800-968-7529) | Schedule your free consultation
Have you or a loved one been harmed in an accident?
Click To Get A Free Case Review
