Florida Hit-and-Run Accident Victim Taken Off Life Support
A University of Central Florida student was critically injured in a hit-and-run accident involving a drunk driver in Orlando recently while she was out walking near the UCF campus. Her family eventually had to make the excruciating decision to remove her from life support due to the seriousness of her injuries and the opinion of her treating physicians that she was likely to never recover. What made this particular incident especially tragic was that, not only did the drunk driver who hit the student flee the scene of one accident on the night that he hit her, but he fled the scene of two accidents in which serious injuries or property damage both occurred.
Drunk driving is an absolute scourge on Florida’s roads, as are hit-and-run accidents, which occur with greater frequency on the roads of the Sunshine State than in almost any other state. Florida, despite statewide safety campaigns like the Florida Department of Highway and Motor Vehicle Safety’s Stay at the Scene campaign, consistently ranks among the top three states in the country for the number of motor vehicle accidents on its roads that involve hit and runs. This is despite the fact that it is against Florida law to flee the scene of an accident where property damage has occurred, or someone has been killed or injured as a result of the collision. Nevertheless, despite facing criminal prosecution for doing just that, many drivers who cause injuries or property damage to others through their negligence flee the scene of the accident in a misguided attempt to avoid the consequences of their actions. Instead, not only do they rarely get away, but they face criminal penalties in addition to the financial ramifications of the accident they caused in the first place.
Another Florida Hit-and-Run: The Tragic Incident in Orlando
According to a Click Orlando report regarding the incident, the student was critically injured by a drunk driver while walking in a grassy area near UCF’s campus in eastern Orlando after midnight on a night in late June. Prior to hitting the pedestrian, the drunk driver first crashed into another vehicle on a nearby road when he made a left turn literally directly into that other vehicle. Despite the fact that the front bumper of his car fell off and into the road after this first accident, the drunk driver fled the scene without even stopping to check whether the occupant of the vehicle he had just hit was injured or what damage had occurred to his own car as a result of the collision. Just minutes later, his car was traveling on the shoulder of a nearby road when he hit the UCF student, critically injuring her. The drunk driver again drove away, never stopping to check on her condition.
Police were later able to track down the driver, a local 25-year-old man, when they discovered him sleeping on the ground behind his car in a nearby parking lot. He was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving a serious injury as well as driving under the influence and causing a serious injury. These charges very well may be upgraded to more serious criminal offenses now that the victim of the drunk driver’s negligence has died as a result of her injuries. A candlelight vigil involving hundreds of students was held on UCF’s campus after her family’s decision to remove her from life support.
Contact the Experienced Motor Vehicle Accident Attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley
Whether it’s drinking that impairs another driver’s judgment and leads him or her to cause an accident with injuries or property damage and then flee the scene, or simply another form of negligence by a driver that caused you or a loved one to suffer injuries or property damage in a motor vehicle accident in Florida, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys of Schwed, Adams, & McGinley, P.A. Our experienced personal injury attorneys have more than 150 years of combined practice representing victims of all sorts of motor vehicle accidents, including Florida drunk driving accidents caused by motorists operating a car while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and Florida hit-and-run accidents involving a driver who causes property damage, serious injuries or even death as a result of that driver’s negligence. If you, a family member or a loved one have been injured or killed as a result of another motorist’s negligent actions, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley, P.A. today at 877-694-6079 or contact@schwedlawfirm.com for a free consultation.