Jacksonville Hit and Run Accident Lawyers
Hit and Run Accidents
It is a dubious distinction.
Jacksonville has the third highest number of hit-and-run accidents in Florida, even though it's the seventh largest city. For some reason more and more people are leaving accident scenes.
It happened to a woman in downtown Jacksonville. Sandi Sandberg was hit near an I-95 intersection when a trailer detached from a pickup truck and hit her car head-on. The car was totaled; she spent months in the hospital and undergoing rehabilitation. The driver of the pickup was never found. Around the same time a nurse walking into Shands Jacksonville was hit in a parking lot by a hit-and-run driver. That was caught on tape and the man was apprehended.
Duval is Florida's seventh largest county, but it follows Miami-Dade and Broward counties in the top three cities with the most hit-and-runs according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and motor Vehicles. That's up a notch from 2006 and 2007.
The man who prosecutes hit-and-run cases in Jacksonville, State Attorney Mark Borello, finds that in 2006, he prosecuted 349 hit-and-run crashes. In 2007 and 2008, there were more than 2,000.
Why do people leave the scene of an accident? Most likely they are driving intoxicated, have an expired license or no insurance, are in a stolen car or have an outstanding warrant for their arrest on another matter.
Leaving the scene of an accident is the worst thing you can do. State law says you are required to render air and provide information. Not to mention the ethics of helping another person you have just injured.
Florida law states that "the driver of a vehicle involved in a crash [. . .] that results in the death of any person must immediately stop the vehicle [. . .] and remain at the scene." If a driver does not do this, as the driver of the Cadillac did, can be charged with a first degree felony (Fl Statutes Title XXII 316.027).
Leaving the scene can bring up to 30 years in prison for the first-degree felony if there is a fatality or injuries. If there are no injuries, it is a misdemeanor.
One of the reasons for so many hit-and-runs in Jacksonville may be that there are not always sidewalks to keep pedestrians safe. And many of these types of accidents occur in the rural areas of Florida, with no sidewalks, lights, or even a shoulder to the road.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a hit-and-run driver, you would be well-advised to contact a Florida personal injury attorney with experience in auto accidents to help you navigate through the investigation, find the at-fault driver and help you receive what you deserve to get you back on your feet.