TAMPA, Fla. — Hit-and-run: a headline you see time after time in Florida.
That’s why Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is leading a Hit-and-Run Awareness Month campaign this February. Their goal? To get drivers to stay at the scene of a crash after it happens.
Over the weekend of Feb. 8 and 9, there were three deadly hit-and-run crashes in just 24 hours in the Tampa Bay area.
Florida law says drivers must stop at crash scenes where somebody is hurt or killed and if there is any sort of property damage. Leaving the scene is a felony.
FLHSMV said there were more than 105,000 hit-and-run crashes in Florida for 2019. FLHSMV said most deadly hit-and-runs happen at night or when it’s darker outside.
“Leaving the scene of a traffic crash is a crime. You must stop immediately at the scene of a crash on public or private property which results in property damage, injury, or death,” said Florida Highway Patrol Director, Colonel Gene S. Spaulding. “Staying at the scene will not only prevent significant legal penalties but may save a life.”
Drivers who leave the scene of a hit-and-run crash will have their license revoked for at least three years and can be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of four years in prison is they are convicted.
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