Hit-And-Run

No one was sure if the St. Augustine father of five who received critical head injuries in a hit-and-run collision would even survive. Now the hit-and-run victim has returned home and is facing a long road to recovery.

The 30-year-old man was on a scooter Friday, January 6, going to his construction job around 5:40 a.m. when he was hit by an SUV from behind. The collision happened on Old Moultrie Road, and the driver was arrested a short time later. The crash victim spent a week in the intensive care unit at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine with doctors not certain of his future.

With severe scrapes from road rash and internal injuries, including brain swelling, he recovered enough to receive some outpatient therapy, but years of rehabilitation lie ahead. On Wednesday, January 18, he celebrated his son’s first birthday, according to an article by News4jax.com.

Traumatic Brain Injury

As with most traumatic head injuries, cognitive skills, including memory and reasoning, are affected. Devastating head injuries are costly and when you are disabled, paying for the medical and rehabilitative costs associated with your accident, as well as lost wages, is overwhelming. The news includes information on how the public can contribute to this hit-and-run victim’s ongoing care.

In the case of devastating injuries resulting from an auto accident, an experienced Florida auto accident injury attorney can determine the at-fault party who will be responsible for all of the costs associated with the crash. In this case, the hit-and-run driver did not have any insurance, but may be ordered to pay restitution as a result of a criminal conviction.

The St. Augustine hit and run accident attorneys with Farah & Farah will explore all of the avenues to bring justice to a victim of an auto accident or a hit-and run collision.

Source: http://www.news4jax.com/news/Hit-and-run-victim-returns-to-family/-/475880/8282092/-/12bwhup/-/index.html

The wife of a man who was a victim of a St. Augustine hit-and-run is praying for his life and is asking the public to do the same. The 30-year-old man was on a scooter on his way to work around 5:30 Friday morning, January 6, on Old Moultrie Road when he was rear-ended by a 2004 Windstar minivan. The driver left the scene and left the father of five to die on the side of a St. Johns County road. A person who saw the news report on television called a tip into police who arrested a 43-year-old man, who is currently behind bars.

The hit-and-run victim’s wife told Channel 4 that they were middle school sweethearts and that she wants to know how someone could leave an injured person on the side of the road. She told a reporter on News4Jax.com that she is praying for her husband and wants the community to do so also, and she prays for the man who hit her husband. The only bit of good news is that the doctors did a reflex test on the hospitalized man and he responded, which is considered a positive sign.

Hit-and-Run Crashes

There have been a high number of pedestrian injuries and deaths, as well as hit-and-run incidents of late. There are an estimated 400 pedestrians killed every month across the U.S., and Florida is always among the top states in the number of hit-and-run crashes.

The Florida hit and run accident attorneys with Farah & Farah are offering some incentive to help get these dangerous drivers off the road. If you have knowledge about a hit-and-run driver and turn him into authorities, a group of personal injury attorneys around the country will offer a financial reward of $1,000 if that person is later convicted. Call Hit-and-Run Reward at 1(800) 644-8678. You can remain anonymous, and we thank you for any information you can provide.

Source: http://www.news4jax.com/news/Wife-of-hit-and-run-victim-speaks/-/475880/7660774/-/e0jbehz/-/index.html

A hit-and-run driver is being sought for striking and killing a 13-year-old on a bike on a Jacksonville road, Saturday, November 26. The teen was about a mile from home on the west side of Brananfield Road when a vehicle hit him about 9:40 p.m. just south of Trail Ridge Road. The young teen was ejected from the bicycle and sent about 100 feet into a ditch, according to Channel 4. The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) says the driver never stopped. So far there is no information on the model of the vehicle or its color, but FHP says it should have right front damage in the headlight area or the side of the car.

The FHP would like to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time or who knows, or thinks they may know, the identity of this hit-and-run driver. Call (904) 695-4115.

Leaving the scene of an auto accident makes a misdemeanor crime into a felony and can bring up to 30 years behind bars. The driver is required to render aid to the victim as well as answer questions of law enforcement. This driver did neither.

The hit-and-run accident attorneys in Jacksonville at Farah & Farah law firm extend our condolences to the family of this young teen for their loss.

Leaving the Scene

The reasons for leaving the scene can be many but usually involve being intoxicated or driving without a license after multiple arrests. Perhaps there is already a warrant out for his or her arrest. Fortunately, those who may know the driver have an incentive to turn him in.

To that end, Farah & Farah is offering $1,000 through Hit-and-Run Reward to anyone who turns in a hit-and-run driver who leaves the scene to avoid being questioned and is later convicted of the crime. The number for Hit-and-Run Reward (www.hitandrunreward.com) is (800) 644-8678.

Personal injury law firms around the country, including Farah & Farah, are coordinating this effort and you may remain anonymous. If you know who this dangerous driver is, you will be helping yourself and making our roads safer by putting him behind bars.

Source: http://www.news4jax.com/news/Boy-on-bicycle-struck-killed-in-hit-and-run/-/475880/4830020/-/9v0grb/-/index.html

News4Jax reports that a vigil was held November 19, for a 21-year-old woman killed in a Jacksonville hit-and-run crash five years ago. A wife and mother were walking home from a convenience store on Normandy Boulevard near Yellow Water Road when the wife was hit by at least one driver who left the scene. That night, her husband drove to look for her and briefly saw her silhouette as he drove past. When he turned around, he found her lying in the middle of the road. She died one week later, November 19, 2006, leaving behind her husband and three-month-old son.

The theory is that two vehicles might have hit the young woman but the Florida Highway Patrol still has no leads in the case other then one of the vehicles might have been a blue truck with metallic paint.

Hit-and-Run Drivers in Florida

The Jacksonville hit-and-run attorneys at Farah & Farah know that it is a felony to leave the scene of an auto accident where there are injuries and not render aid to the accident victim. Stopping to help may mean the difference between life and death to that those that cannot help themselves. In this case, the driver could face up to 30 years in state prison for fleeing.

Channel 4 is asking the public to come forward with any information by contacting the Florida Highway Patrol in St. Johns County at (904) 695-4115 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 845-TIPS.

Farah & Farah is a member of Hit-and-Run Reward, an organization supported by U.S. personal injury attorneys. A call to law enforcement that leads to a conviction will result in a $1,000 reward to the caller in addition to the cash reward offered by Crime Stoppers. You can remain anonymous.

The number for Hit-and-Run Reward is (800) 644-8678.

Source: http://www.news4jax.com/news/Vigil-held-for-hit-and-run-victim/-/475880/4792500/-/m08461z/-/index.html

Georgia State Patrol troopers are looking for information and leads concerning a hit-and-run attack on Interstate 95 on July 10th that resulted in one fatality and devastating injuries. The Florida Times Union interviewed a 43-year-old woman from Gastonia, North Carolina who was driving her 60-year-old mother and 9-year-old nephew home from a family vacation in Daytona Beach. While in Camden County, just 19 miles north of the Florida-Georgia border, a white car pulled up from behind and began slamming into the back of their Ford Escape until they overturned and crashed on I-95.

From the picture in the paper it is amazing anyone survived. All three were ejected from the SUV when it overturned and the grandmother, a mother of six who sat in the front seat, died at the scene. The nephew had cuts and scrapes. The driver had internal injuring included a fractured vertebrae and ribs, a hyper-extended knee, and a broken collar bone and wrist. She spent 29 days in the hospital first in Savannah then in Charlotte. The driver only remembers seeing a white vehicle in her rear view mirror after the first hit, then three other intentional hits followed.

Hit-and-Run Reward
Because of the limited information the investigation remains active but has yielded few results. To make matters worse, the driver’s husband suffered a stroke in late July returning from his wife’s hospital bedside. He can no longer work and the family has no medical insurance. The driver is urging anyone who saw the car that rammed her vehicle to come forward or if they saw the vehicle immediately afterward they need to contact troopers. The number for the Georgia State Patrol is (912) 262-2380.

Doing the Right Thing Can Yield $1,000: Hit-and-Run Reward
Farah & Farah feels so strongly about catching these people that it has joined the national group, Hit-and-Run Reward. If you report a hit-and-run driver who thought he got away with something and he is later convicted based on your information, you can receive a $1,000 reward. Call 1-800-644-8678 and you can remain anonymous. Thank you for stepping up and doing the right thing.

Source: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-09-17/story/family-struggles-recover-road-rage-attack-camden-county

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is looking for a driver who was involved in a fatal hit-and-run collision that took place last June in Osteen. To help with the search, FHP has just released a composite drawing prepared with the help of witnesses to the early morning June 13 fatal crash on State Road 415. The witnesses don’t agree whether it was a man or woman behind the wheel but they do agree the driver had long hair and drove a sports utility vehicle.

A 34-year-old man from Sanford was a passenger in a pickup truck which had just been involved in a fatal motorcycle crash. When the man got out of the pickup truck to check on the biker, who was under the vehicle, he knelt in the roadway but was hit by a vehicle being driven at a good rate of speed. The driver swerved to miss the pickup truck and in doing so he hit the man but left the scene. The fatally injured man was taken to Central Florida Regional Hospital where he made a final call to his mother saying he didn’t think he was going to live. He didn’t.

Because the victim was low in the road, FHP believes the damage to the SUV may be to the under carriage.

Anyone with any information on this driver should contact Crime Stoppers as well as Hit-and-Run Reward, a national program that Farah & Farah has joined because of the high number of hit-and-run accidents in Florida, many of which result in severe or even fatal injuries. Help us get unlawful and reckless drivers off the road by reporting a suspect to 1-800-644-8678. You will be eligible for a $1,000 reward if that person is later convicted. Learn more on our website or by visiting http://www.hitandrunreward.com. Thank you in advance for doing the right thing.

Source: http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2011-08-04/news/os-hit-run-fatality-composite-20110804_1_hit-and-run-driver-vehicle-strikes-fatal-crash

A 24-year-old man from Plant City is facing charges in a fatal three-vehicle crash and made his first appearance before a judge on Sunday morning, February 20. My Fox Tampa Bay reports that the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) believes the man was driving a 1997 Honda Accord near Plant City on Friday night, February 18, when he turned in front of a motorcycle, causing the biker to be ejected onto the roadway. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene on U.S. Highway 92 near Robinson Orange Park. The Accord driver then allegedly left the scene but was later found and arrested. A passenger in his vehicle was not injured and a third vehicle was allegedly involved that did not result in injuries.

Our condolences are extended to the friends and family of the biker, also age 24, who died in this motorcycle crash.

In Florida in 2009, 402 motorcyclists and their passengers were killed in traffic accidents in the state. Unfortunately, the number of hit-and-run incidents is on the increase in Florida.

Leaving the scene of an accident not only leaves an injured person without aid, but automatically turns what might be a misdemeanor charge into a felony punished by up to 30 years in prison. Because this is such a problem in our state, the Florida personal injury lawyers at the Farah & Farah law firm is a member of Hit-and-Run Reward, a national program financed exclusively by American personal injury attorneys who will offer anyone $1,000 to turn in a hit-and-run driver. The number for Hit-and-Run Reward is 1-800-644-8678.

A 20-year-old man suspected of fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run crash that killed a young woman on Beach Boulevard Tuesday night, February 15, appeared in court and will be held on $100,000 bond. The man was arrested Thursday, February 17, about 6 p.m. at his home and his pickup, believed to be the crash vehicle, was towed from his Jacksonville area home. Channel 4 reported that the mother of the young man said he was going to turn himself in, but the station reports that a tipster actually contacted law enforcement and turned him in.

The young woman cried out to her friends around the time she was hit crossing Beach Boulevard at Palm Lane. She died at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center around 10 p.m. after being dragged 20 yards under the truck. Channel 4 reports her parent’s believe she might have survived had the driver slowed down. Instead, there was a tire print on her body, they said.

Our sincere condolences are extended to the friends and family of this beautiful young woman.

Unfortunately for this young man, the fact that he chose to leave the scene after hitting a person made his act an automatic felony that will bring him a long time in state prison. Florida Statute 316.027 says that the driver of a vehicle involved in a crash that results in an injury must stop the vehicle and remain at the scene to answer questions and to aid the victim. To fail to do so means that person has committed a felony of the third degree, punishable by up to five years in prison.

If a Florida hit-and-run accident involves a death, the person must again stop and remain at the scene to help and answer questions or face a first degree felony charge, punishable by up to 30 years in state prison. In some instances, hitting a pedestrian might not bring any charges, depending on the circumstances or it might bring a misdemeanor charge, if the driver stayed at the scene.

Farah & Farah’s Florida car crash lawyers urge anyone involved in a crash with a pedestrian, motorcycle, another motorist, or bicycle to stay at the scene and at the very least render aid. To fail to do so brings charges that some consider well deserved.

Because hit-and-run collisions are such a problem in our state, the Farah & Farah law firm is a member of Hit-and-Run Reward, a national program financed exclusively by American personal injury attorneys to encourage everyone to turn in a hit-and-run driver. You’ll be taking a dangerous driver off the road and are eligible to receive a $1,000 reward if the person is convicted. Visit our Web site for more. The number for Hit-and-Run Reward is 1-800-644-8678.

Another Florida pedestrian has died in an early morning hit-and-run accident. A 30-year-old man was on foot on the northbound lanes of Seminole Boulevard in Largo, just south of 119th Avenue N, when he was hit by a northbound vehicle around 2 a.m. on Sunday, February 13. He was taken to Bayfront Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) investigators say the driver of the unknown vehicle involved did not stop and TampaBay.com reports the FHP is asking the public, or any witnesses, to contact FHP Cpl. Jim Atwood at 727-570-5010, ext. 309 if they have any information as to what led up to the fatal collision.

Our condolences go out to the friends and family of this man.

With nearly 700,000 hit-and-run reports each year in the nation, our state ranks third in the number of Florida hit-and-run accidents. The Governors Highway Safety Association has just released figures that show in 2009 nationwide there were 4,092 pedestrian fatalities, an increase of 0.4 percent at a time when traffic fatalities are declining.

To combat the trend, the Florida pedestrian accident lawyers at the Farah & Farah law firm have joined Hit-and-Run Reward, a national program financed exclusively by personal injury attorneys who believe if you report a hit-and-run driver you will keep a dangerous driver off the road and you could receive a financial reward of $1,000 for anyone you turn in who is later convicted of the hit-and-run. Visit our website for more information on Hit-and-Run Reward. The number to report a hit-and-run driver is 1-800-644-8678.

A Tampa hit-and-run driver made a very bad decision on November 21, 2009 that will keep him in prison for the next 15 years. The driver said he was searching for a cigarette on the floor of his vehicle when he struck a University of Tampa student and another young woman and then left the scene of the accident. WTSP-Television reports the young man was declared brain dead and taken off life support. On Wednesday, February 9, the man received the sentence to be followed by 15 years probation.

Florida law states that a driver must remain at the scene of a crash to provide aid and information. A failure to do so is a first degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

With nearly 700,000 hit-and-run reports each year in the nation, Florida ranks third in the nation in the number of hit-and-run accidents. In 2009, 482 pedestrians were killed in the state, a slight decline from the previous year.

Farah & Farah’s Florida pedestrian accident attorneys also advise that you have an obligation to move your damaged vehicle if it is blocking traffic, which does not constitute a criminal offense.

Because hit-and-run accidents are such a problem in Florida, Farah & Farah has decided to join Hit-and-Run Reward, a national program financed exclusively by American personal injury attorneys. Report a hit-and-run driver and you will keep a dangerous driver off the road and you can also receive a financial reward of $1,000 for anyone you turn in who is later convicted of the hit-and-run. This program is offered in addition to the Crime Stoppers reward program, so doing the right thing could yield you $2,000. The number for Hit-and-Run Reward is 1-800-644-8678.