Jacksonville Personal Injury Blog

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) would like the public’s help in finding the person who hit a bicyclist in New Port Richey and left the scene. The incident happened about 1:30 a.m. on January 19 when the 27-year-old cyclist was traveling southbound on County Road. TBO.com reports he was hit at a high rate of speed and the hit-and-run driver continued driving south. The man was taken to Bayonet Point Hospital and was later upgraded to guarded condition from serious.

Law enforcement is looking for a newer model two-door silver or gray car. It will have windshield and front end damage. A witness told the FHP the vehicle was seen at a Wal-Mart after the hit-and-run at Little Road and State Road 54. The car was being driven by a white female with brown hair in her late 20s wearing blue jeans and a tan shirt. She reportedly picked up a male passenger at the Wal-Mart. Anyone with information is asked to call FHP Trooper R. Evans at (813) 631-4020.

Florida Hit-and Runs

With 4,774 bicyclists hit in Florida in 2010 that resulted in 99 fatalities, Florida is among the top states for pedestrian and bicycle collisions with motor vehicles. The Florida bicycle accident attorneys at Farah & Farah would like to address this problem by offering a reward.

Turn in a hit-and-run driver by calling Hit-and-Run Reward and, if that person is convicted, you will be awarded $1,000 for doing the right thing. Farah & Farah has joined personal injury law firms around the country in offering this reward. The number is (800) 644-8678 and thank you for helping to take these dangerous drivers off the road.

Source:http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-news/2012/jan/19/driver-flees-after-hitting-bicyclist-in-new-port-r-ar-349150/

A Mexican worker who came to the U.S. for a better life had his life cut short Christmas Day, December 25, because of a hit-and-run driver. WTSP-TV in Tampa reports that the field worker, who picked strawberries in Dover earlier that day, was riding his bicycle on Dover Sydney Road when a car hit him. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the car stopped briefly, but then left the scene. The 20-year-old victim died at the scene. He had a baby on the way, and the television station reports friends and family say he worked hard so he could purchase phone cards and stay in touch with his family back in Mexico. He was in this country legally working for Florida Pacific Farms and had been doing so for three winters. Our condolences go out to his family and friends, and the co-workers who are said to be mourning his death.

The stretch of road where the bicyclist was killed has no paved shoulder on which to ride a bicycle and is narrow. The young man was hit and killed at 6:00 p.m. when it would have been getting dark, but Channel 10 reports there were witnesses who identified a green sedan as the vehicle involved. That car would have extensive damage to the windshield.

Florida Hit-and Run

Under Florida law 316.027, any driver involved in a crash that results in injury of any type is required to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene, or as close by as possible, and must remain on the scene to give information and render aid to the victim. That can include carrying the person to a doctor or hospital for medical treatment if requested by the injured person. (316.062). A violator is guilty of a felony of the first degree punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

You can help. The hit and run accident lawyers in Florida of the Farah & Farah law firm is a member of Hit-and-Run Reward, a national program financed exclusively by American personal injury attorneys. If you know anything about this hit-and-run driver, you will be eligible for a reward of $1,000 for anyone you turn in who is later convicted of the hit-and-run. The number for Hit-and-Run Reward (www.hitandrunreward.com) is 1-800-644-8678. Please do the right thing and get this dangerous driver off the road.

Search: http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/228225/8/Detectives-search-for-hit-and-run-driver;http://public.findlaw.com/traffic-ticket-violation-law/traffic-ticket-a-z/hit-and-run-laws.html; http://archive.flsenate.gov/statutes/index.cfm?App_Mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=Ch0316/Sec027.htm&StatuteYear=2009

This is a story reported by First Coast News in Jacksonville that is about an unusual scenario. A hit-and-run driver is being sought after he hit an airplane on Interstate 295. The plane had made an emergency landing Saturday night, December 3, around 10 p.m. The pilot from North Carolina was not injured. The red Ford pickup reportedly hit the plane’s wing as it sat on the I-295 South ramp to Interstate 95 North, but he kept on driving.

The pilot was flying a 2004 Cirrus single engine plane, according to the news channel. He and his passenger walked away, but still suffered about $1,500 in damage to the plane.

Hit-and-Run Crash

The Florida hit-and-run auto accident lawyers of Farah and Farah remind drivers they are required to talk to law enforcement if they are involved in any type of crash. Of course if there are injuries, they are expected to render aid. To do so may mean that they could save a life. To fail to do so may mean someone dies alone on the side of the road from their injuries.

Because hit-and-run crashes are such a problem in Florida, Farah & Farah is a member of Hit-and-Run Reward. If you witness a hit-and-run or know someone who fled the scene, you can receive a financial reward of $1,000 for reporting that person to law enforcement. You may even call in the report anonymously. Farah & Farah, along with other personal injury law firms around the country, want to encourage you to do the right thing and keep a dangerous driver off of our roads. Call the number for Hit-and-Run Reward (www.hitandrunreward.com) at 1-800-644-8678.

Source: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/topstories/article/229741/483/FHP-Seeking-Driver-of-Red-Truck-That-Fled-Plane-Landing?odyssey=tab|topnews|bc|large;http://m.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-12-03/story/pilot-and-student-small-plane-had-emergency-landing-i-295

A driver who is accused of driving into a horse and rider in Ocala and leaving the scene was arrested November 13. The Florida hit-and-run accident happened around 4 p.m. at Northwest 35th Street and Northwest 130th Avenue in the town of Fellowship, according to a report in The Ocala Star-Banner. Unfortunately, the crash broke the horse’s leg and he had to be euthanized. The rider is hospitalized with minor injuries including a sprained ankle and bruises.

The story of what actually happened depends on who is recounting the events.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the 35-year-old suspect said he loaned his car to another driver and was not behind the wheel, but when police stopped him, he failed a field sobriety test. His blood alcohol measured .223, nearly three times the legal limit for intoxication and was taken hours after the accident. Law enforcement tracked him down after seeing a car with front-end damage and a shattered windshield. The driver then said he was distracted and hit the horse, but when the rider fell and got back on he drove off.

However, witnesses say the car was heading directly east when it hit the horse and rider who were riding in a westbound direction and neither the horse nor rider stood back up.

The Ocala auto accident attorneys of Farah & Farah law firm have learned that the horse had a value of about $8,500, according to the newspaper.

The driver has been charged with driving under the influence (DUI) and DUI with bodily injury. Because he left the crash scene he also was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and two counts of DUI with property damage. Had the rider been serious injured or killed, this driver could be facing up to 30 years in prison for leaving the scene of an auto accident.

Source: http://www.ocala.com/article/20111114/ARTICLES/111119834

According to a report on WESH-TV, a deputy from Seminole County was arrested on Thursday, October 6, and charged with leaving a crash scene where there were injuries. The deputy had slowed to avoid hitting a dog on Lake Emma Road in Lake Mary when his unmarked patrol car was hit by a motorcycle. Instead of stopping to render aid to the motorcyclist, the deputy left the scene. The deputy’s car sustained about $4,000 in damage, though the deputy’s story was that he didn’t know he had been hit.

Even though the Seminole County car accident happened one month ago the deputy was just arrested this week; WESH-TV does not mention why there was a delay. The officer has been suspended from his job. The motorcyclist was injured and suffered broken bones and cuts, and this story gives no explanation as to why he didn’t stop before hitting the officer’s car.

An investigation is continuing.

Hit-and-Run Accidents

This story is a twist on the typical hit-and-run accident. Even though the officer was hit, he has an obligation as an officer of the law to respond to the citizens of his county. Under state law, when anyone is involved in a hit-and-run, even if they have been hit themselves, they are required to stay and render aid. Certainly, a person who is an officer of the law should understand the law and follow it.

For some reason, many people involved in Florida hit-and-run accidents seem compelled to leave the scene for a list of potential reasons. They may not have insurance or a driver’s license, or they may be driving under the influence or have drugs in their possession. Leaving the scene turns a possible misdemeanor into a criminal charge with prison time.

It will be interesting to see whether or not the law, which applies to the citizens of Florida, also applies to its’ law enforcement officers.

Source: http://www.wesh.com/news/29442868/detail.html

All the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) has to go on is a broken headlight and a front panel from a blue Toyota. That’s what remained after a car collided with a bicyclist in Orange County on Tuesday, October 4, on southbound John Young Parkway. The 21-year-old bicyclist was crossing the southbound lane on the left turn lane when the motorist, also southbound, hit the rider on the inside lane at Bear Bryant Drive. The motorist then left the scene.

So far, the FHP has no witnesses. The agency says charges are pending and could include reckless or careless driving under Florida law 316.192. Reckless is defined as speeding, driving under the influence, or racing. A fear of being charged is one of the reasons that Florida hit-and-run drivers leave the scene.

The bicyclist was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he is in serious condition. Let’s all pray the bicyclist recovers and that a witness comes forward to turn in this reckless driver.

Florida Hit-and-Runs
There were 99 bicyclists killed during Florida bicycle car collisions in 2010, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida ranks third in the nation in the number of hit-and-run incidents.

Because of these staggering statistics, Farah & Farah is dedicated to stopping hit-and-run collisions. We have joined other personal injury law firms nationwide in funding Hit-and-Run Reward. We believe if you turn in a hit-and-run driver you will be doing a public service and you can receive $1,000 from Hit-and-Run Reward for doing the right thing. The number for Hit-and-Run Reward (www.hitandrunreward.com) is 1-800-644-8678.

Source: http://www.wdbo.com/news/news/fhp-bicyclist-hit-injured-hit-and-run/nDznm/

The crash happened November 28, 2010 in Atlantic Beach. The bicyclist, a Navy Lieutenant, had left a bar with a group of friends around the same time as a 30-year-old Neptune Beach man driving a sport-utility vehicle (SUV) left a separate bar. The two converged upon an Atlantic Beach intersection, the SUV driving through as the bicyclist went through a stop sign. The 26-year-old helicopter pilot was hit and as he lay on the ground the motorist left the scene. The pilot suffered a skull fracture and spent the next five days in a coma before he died. The mothers of both men were in a Jacksonville courtroom Friday, September 30, pleading with the judge to deliver what each considers the appropriate sentence on Monday, October 3 when court reconvenes in the sentencing phase for the SUV driver. Under a plea agreement, the motorist could spend up to 15 years in prison for leaving the accident scene when there was a death.

After the motorist left the scene, he put his vehicle in a garage and told his boss he hit a deer. At trial, he apologized to the family of the victim and told them he was a coward. He admitted to having four or five beers that night, but since he left the scene he was not tested for intoxication. He admitted to the judge he knew he had struck a person and that he saw the man lying on the ground. Then he got in his car and left. The victim had a blood-alcohol level of .19, more than twice the legal limit for intoxication.

Florida Reckless Driving Statute
Many people writing to The Florida Times-Union don’t believe the motorist should be punished because the pilot was legally intoxicated, but the law doesn’t look at it that way. Florida Statute 316.192(1)(a) defines reckless driving as the wanton or willful disregard for the safety of property or persons. This could involve speeding, driving under the influence, or racing. It doesn’t matter whether or not he intended to hurt someone - he did. And it doesn’t matter whether the victim was intoxicated, blind, or walking on one leg.

When a driver leaves the scene of an accident and fails to stop and give information to law enforcement or render some sort of aid to the injured, and either knew or should have known that the accident occurred (Fl. Statute 316.062), he or she has committed a first degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10,000.

The plea agreement has already cut down this motorist’s possible prison time to 15 years. The hit-and-run Florida accident attorneys at Farah & Farah remind everyone not to drive drunk or even buzzed. Name a designated driver and if an accident does occur, never, ever leave the scene.

Source: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2011-09-30/story/i-was-coward-says-driver-atlantic-beach-hit-and-run-killed-pilot

We have reported it here repeatedly – the absolute worst thing you can do if you hit a pedestrian, a bicyclist, another motorist, or a motorcyclist – is to leave the scene. People often make that split second bad decision because they have something to hide. It has happened again, according to a report by WTSP-TV in Tampa.

A 32-year-old woman reportedly was driving in downtown Clearwater on Friday morning, June 17, when she struck a 47-year-old court bailiff as he walked in the crosswalk at Court Street and Osceola Avenue. Instead of stopping to render aid, as required by law, the woman left the scene, according to a witness. Later the same day, the woman was found working at a restaurant on north Clearwater Beach. She has now been charged with driving with a suspended or revoked license, for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and with leaving the scene of a crash with injuries. She reportedly did not have a license. Leaving the scene with injuries is a third degree felony, according to Florida Statute 316.027.

The bailiff was taken to Morton Plant Hospital and treated and released. Fortunately, his injuries were not more serious.

Just by leaving the scene of a pedestrian accident in Florida, as many who panic do, this woman may be spending a prison term not to exceed five years behind bars.

Farah & Farah takes the offense of leaving the scene following an accident very seriously. So much so that we have decided to join forces with other American personal injury attorneys to encourage the public to turn in someone who has left the scene of an accident they were involved in. With Florida ranking third in the nation in the number of hit-and-runs, our Florida accident lawyers are members of Hit-and-Run Reward. If you turn in a hit-and-run driver who is later convicted, you could receive a financial reward of $1,000 for, in addition to the $1,000 offered by Crime Stoppers. The number for Hit-and-run Reward is 1-800-644-8678. Send a message to those among us who don’t respect a human life enough to simply stop and help.

Source: http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/197409/8/Restaurant-worker-charged-in-deputy-hit-and-run-

Late Tuesday, May 17, Jacksonville police announced they arrested an 18-year-old, charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash on the Westside. The teen was allegedly driving a white pickup truck that hit and killed a 23-year-old woman who was riding an electric wheelchair on the side of Lambine Road early Saturday morning, May 14. Channel 4 reports the young woman was returning home with a pizza in the electric chair because she didn’t have a car when a full-size Dodge pickup truck traveling southbound in the 4600 block hit her. Witnesses told the television station that it appeared the truck was racing with an ATV down the dark, narrow road. Unfortunately, there are no sidewalks and only a drop off on either side of the road. The young woman was not disabled but had borrowed the chair from a family member.

Her fiancé says he was in the road waiting for the young woman to return and he tried to warn the driver. Instead he saw his fiancé struck by the truck which then stopped for a minute or two before driving off.

Reports were solicited through Crime Stoppers and Tuesday afternoon the young man was booked into the Duval County jail on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash that resulted in a death.

Hit-and-Run Reward is a program the Jacksonville car accident attorneys at Farah & Farah have joined because hit-and-run collisions are such a problem in Florida. Financed by personal injury attorneys, if you turn in a suspect who is later convicted of the hit-and-run you can be eligible for another $1,000 in addition to the Crime Stoppers reward. Not only that, but you will remove a dangerous driver from the road. Call Hit-and-Run Reward at 1-800-644-8678 if you have information on a hit-and-run in Florida today.

WTSP Television in Tampa is reporting that the hit-and-run driver who left a Tampa student dead on Kennedy Boulevard and scarred his 20-year old friend for life, pled guilty on December 21, to two counts of leaving the scene with a fatality and will serve 15 years in prison with 15 years probation to follow.

According to police, the driver admitted his part in the hit-and-run which occurred in November of 2009 when a group of young people was crossing Kennedy Boulevard to get some food. The driver says he panicked and left the scene and ditched the car which was later found by police and traced back to the driver.

The young man was hospitalized but declared brain dead days after the collision. The 20-year-old woman, contacted at her home in Pennsylvania, said she cannot open her jaw and surgery is too risky because there are bone fragments close to her brain.

Instead of volleyball and snowboarding, she takes online courses to study to work in criminal justice or law. She tells 10 News she hoped the man would get the maximum sentence of 35 years.

Distracted Driving
The driver told reporters he was reaching down to retrieve a lit cigarette when the accident occurred. According to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, dialing a cell phone raises the risk of a crash 2.8 times, talking on a phone raises the risk of a crash 1.3 times, and reaching for an object increases the risk of a crash 1.4 times.

If you have been injured by an inattentive driver in an auto accident, a Tampa car accident attorney can immediately begin to determine to what extent the motorist may be at-fault. The driver responsible for your injuries may be liable for compensating your medical costs, lost wages, property damages, among other expenses.

This was a very sad story to report last September. A University of North Florida student from Egypt, working on his MBA, Yasser Ibrahim Hamdy, 23, was riding a scooter with his two roommates when he was hit by a car, flung from the scooter, and hit by a second car. A News4Jax report states that he died at the scene. Hamdy had just received the scooter as an incentive for signing a lease on a Jacksonville apartment near UNF and he had no experience riding one. He also was not wearing a helmet.

Police have been looking for the initial Florida hit-and-run driver for some time. Now she has been arrested. Brittany Nicole Briscoe, 20, has been charged with leaving the scene of a Florida accident involving death and speeding. She is also charged with driving with a suspended license and causing serious injury. Both charges are felonies. How did police track her down? Briscoe, of Atlantic Beach, was actually tracked to her father’s home in Orlando.

There they found the 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse allegedly involved in the accident which occurred at 2:15 a.m. on Beach Boulevard. Tips came in that led investigators to Briscoe. The second car that hit Hamdy was located a few hours after the accident. The driver, Alex Ward Jr. 22 of Mayport Naval Station didn’t know what he had run over. He has not been charged. Briscoe has been booked into the Duval County jail where she is held on $75,000 bail.

Florida Hit-and-Run Accident Statistics
For some unknown reason, the number of hit-and-run cases is increasing in the state. Duval County follows only Miami-Dade and Broward Counties as having the third most FL hit-and-run crashes in 2008, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

In Jacksonville, there were more than 2,000 hit-and-runs in 2007 and 2008. Compare that to 349 in 2006. Generally one can assume that the person who flees has something to hide. He or she might be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. They might be driving with a suspended license or no license at all. They could be in this country illegally or have an outstanding warrant for their arrest. Or they could just panic and run.

Continue reading "Woman Charged in UNF Student Hit and Run Death" »

This hit-and-run crash is still a mystery and is being investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol. According to a www.tallahassee.com article, a 43-year-old woman from Quincy was driving with a passenger in her car at I-10 mile marker 230 in Jefferson County. That’s when another vehicle came up and struck the back of her Chevrolet Geo which threw the Geo into a tree on the north shoulder. The hit-and-run driver then kept on going. EMS workers arrived on the scene to free the woman who was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, but there is no word on her passenger. The female motorist was wearing a seat belt. She is listed in serious condition.

We are so thankful that the driver was wearing her seat belt otherwise her injuries could be so much more severe. We are praying for her recovery and that of her passenger.

Florida Hit-and-Run Accident Stats
Although this accident did not happen in the Jacksonville area, it should be noted that Duval County, Jacksonville, follows only Miami-Dade and Broward Counties as having the third most hit-and-rum crashes in 2008, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

For some unknown reason the number of hit-and-run cases is increasing in the state. In Jacksonville there were more than 2,000 in 2007 and 2008. Compare that to 349 in 2006. Generally one can assume that the person who flees has something to hide. He or she might be intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. They might be driving with a suspended license or no license at all. They could be in this country illegally or have an outstanding warrant for their arrest. Or they could just panic and run.

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). The maximum sentence for a first degree felony is a $10,000 fine and as much as 30 years in prison.

Liability Issues
In such cases, the families of victims would be well-advised to contact a reputable Jacksonville injury attorney who will keep in touch with the official investigation and make you’re your rights are preserved. A knowledgeable car accident lawyer will also be able to advise victims about how their car insurance policy applies to a hit-and-run crash or in a case where the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured.

A bicyclist has been in the hospital and recovering for the last six weeks after a hit-and-run driver nearly killed him while riding on his bicycle.

He was on his bike on McCormick Road in Jacksonville, training for a charity ride, the MS 150, in Daytona. But on October 1, two days before the event, he was hit by a truck, pinning his bike against the railing and throwing him in the air. He says he has no recollection of being hit or of the driver speeding off leaving him behind in the road.

Five broken ribs and a broken shoulder blade, three weeks in the hospital, a drug-induced coma, and 40 pounds lighter, the injured bicyclist is happy to be alive. His wife can’t believe someone left her husband in the road to die.

"I was floored by the disregard that someone had for him. As he said, there was ample bicycle lanes, no reason for this to have happened," she said.

McCormick Road has just received its own bike lane just so accidents like this don’t happen. But they do.

Continue reading "Hit and Run Bicyclist Survives to Tell His Story" »

She will spend the next four years in prison for DUI manslaughter. Many are saying she got off lucky. It was bad enough when last April, the 25-year-old woman side-swiped a van on I-295 near San Jose Boulevard. But instead of staying at the scene of the early morning wreck, police say she drove away.

She might have gotten away with it, but when she left the scene, she kept driving and then lost control of her pickup truck on Crown Point Road and struck a tree. As often happens with people who are driving while under the influence of alcohol, she was uninjured, but her 30-year-old male passenger died at the scene. Despite the death of her passenger, the woman took off on foot and was eventually tracked down by K-9 teams.

The woman pled guilty to DUI manslaughter. This week she was sentenced.

We wonder how the family of her passenger feels about her four years behind bars. According to state guidelines, the woman could have received 15 years for a felony in the second degree. Leaving the scene, in this case twice, bumps the sentencing to a first degree felony.

The driver of any vehicle involved in a crash that results in the death of any person is required by Florida law 316.027 to immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the crash or as close as possible, and remain at the scene.

You are required to stay and render aid and give information to any officer investigating the scene and to give aid to anyone injured at the scene including getting them to a doctor or hospital if that is requested by the injured person.

Continue reading "DUI Hit-and-Run Driver Sentenced" »