Florida Highway Patrol launches ‘Stay At The Scene’ campaign

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — February is hit-and-run awareness month — a time to observe not only just traffic safety but also help control an alarming issue.

Hit-and-run accidents have been the cause of one-too-many deaths and critical injuries.

“She hit her, she left, and she went home,” Timeka Morris said.

Years ago, Morris said she lost a friend to a hit-and-run accident, and it affected everyone.

“It was tragic. Her mom took it pretty hard,” Morris said.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles saw hit-and-run fatalities increase by over 18% across the state in 2020 despite an overall decrease of 13% in 2019.

Of the 91,000 hit-and-run crashes, 254 of them were fatal. Now, the “Stay At The Scene” campaign looks to lower those numbers.

“Having all the information with the vehicle involved provides a very easy report to be generated,” Dylan Bryan, master sergeant with Florida Highway Patrol Troop G, said. “A very timely report not waiting weeks, months, sometimes, years — depending on the cases.”

Leaving the scene of a crash is a felony, and convicted drivers will have their license revoked for a minimum of three years and can be sentenced to a mandatory four years in prison. The Florida Highway Patrol stated it’s important to do the right thing and help provide closure.

“Create a hit-and-run case with a crash that results in an injury — that’s any injury, mind you,” Bryan said. “It could be a scratch on the hand or a serious bodily injury or fatality, and that makes it a felony.”

For Morris, she said getting that closure can help.

“They lost a daughter, and the children that lost their mom,” Morris said. “To get closure on it. It’s sad someone went to prison for it, but you need to take responsibility for things you do.”

Bryan said leaving the scene can complicate everything, and having the proper information will benefit everyone involved.

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