Two stories in our local media this week about hit-and-run accidents really have me upset this week. First, there was the story about the 21-year old bicyclist who was left in critical condition after he was hit while trying to cross John Young Parkway Tuesday morning. Although there were no eyewitnesses, Florida Highway Patrol troopers found a broken headlight and quarter panel from a blue Toyota lying near the roadway.
In an unrelated event that occurred last month, a Seminole County deputy sheriff was driving his unmarked squad car when he slowed to avoid an animal in the road. In the process of doing so, the deputy was rear-ended by a Harley Davidson, sending the motorcyclist sprawling across the trunk of the deputy’s vehicle. The impact was so significant that the motorcyclist sustained fractures to both wrists, his pelvis, and other injuries. In a move that defies belief, the deputy drove away from the scene, and later said (when he was being arrested) that he was unaware he had been struck in any fashion.
Is it really likely that a driver who loses the entire front quarter panel of their car after hitting a bicyclist, or a driver who has almost $4,000.00 in damage to their trunk due to a sprawling motorcyclist, could not know that he or she had been involved in a crash? Did these drivers really not have the common decency or humanity to stop and help the injured?
As an Orlando accident attorney, I’m tired of reading stories like these. I believe more should be done to both identity, and to punish, these irresponsible motorists. I believe they should face significant punitive damages in addition to criminal charges.
If you have any questions about a hit-and-run accident call Winter Park personal injury lawyer Kim Cullen at 407-644-4444.
