Miami-Dade County Top County For Hit-and-Run Crashes

In Florida, a driver is required by law to stop immediately following any accident. Even if the incident results in little to no damage, the driver must stop and exchange information. Failure to do so may result in being charged anywhere from a citation to a felony charge, depending on the circumstances surrounding the incident. If there were injuries or a fatality involved, the charges can quickly escalate. A hit and run conviction can also end with the permanent revocation of a driver’s license. There are other consequences as well, as Jacksonville.com reports.

Florida has seen 102,756 hit-and-run accidents since January 1, 2018. Of those, there have been 215 fatalities and 21,511 injuries.

Miami-Dade County ranks number one in hit-and-run incidents, with 19,841 incidents. Sarasota County comes in at number 17 with 1,507 hit-and-run accidents. Manatee County is 21st, with 1,275 incidents.

There are many reasons that a driver will flee from an accident. The most common reasons are intoxication, invalid driver’s licenses, and people with active warrants.

Hit-and-run collisions are devastating not only physically, but also fiscally and psychologically. When the culprit cannot be located, compensation often hinges on the kind of insurance that the victim has for their vehicle.

Post-traumatic stress disorder is common among those who are victims of hit-and-run drivers. This can be especially true when law enforcement is unable to track down the drivers who caused the accident. Often, law enforcement officials rely on witness statements and sometimes must turn to social media to track the drivers down.