Florida Road Rage Causes Fatal Hit-and-Run
A 58-year-old Orlando man was recently killed in a Merritt Island, Florida, accident that featured two phenomena that Florida drivers unfortunately know all too well: road rage and a hit-and-run accident. Even though leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident in which someone is injured or killed or property damage has occurred is a criminal offense in Florida, hit-and-runs still occur at alarming rates here, surpassing those of virtually every other state in the nation. Road rage, although not confined to the Sunshine State, seems to occur more frequently here than in other parts of the United States as well. Indeed, according to a survey conducted by AutoVantage regarding incidences of road rage, Miami was rated the seventh worst city in the country for road rage in 2014, the most recent year in which the survey was conducted.
According to a Florida Today report regarding the accident, the Merritt Island accident involved three vehicles: a Mustang, a red passenger vehicle, and an SUV. The red passenger vehicle and the Mustang appeared to have been involved in some sort of road rage incident, according to eyewitnesses to the accident. The front portion of the red vehicle then struck the Mustang in the back, apparently deliberately according to eyewitnesses. This collision propelled the Mustang across the median separating traffic in either direction and into oncoming traffic on the other side of the road, where it was struck by an SUV going the opposite way. The driver of the Mustang was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident and a passenger suffered critical injuries, while two people in the SUV suffered minor injuries.
Florida Law Regarding Hit-and-Run Accidents and Road Rage
Florida law expressly prohibits aggressive careless driving. A motorist is engaged in aggressive careless driving if he does any of the following simultaneously or in short succession: (i) exceeding the posted speed; (ii) unsafely or improperly changing lanes; (iii) following another vehicle too closely; (iv) failing to yield the right-of-way as required under Florida law; (v) improperly passing another vehicle; or (vi) violating the commands given by traffic control and signal devices. In addition, Florida law also requires drivers to remain at the scene of an accident where a person was injured or killed or property damage occurred. Failing to do so can result in criminal charges.
Therefore, the driver of the red passenger vehicle that fled the scene of the recent Merritt Island accident will be facing criminal charges not only related to the death of the individual that was killed as a result of his or her actions, but also as a result of fleeing the scene of the accident. That individual could also face a civil lawsuit by the Mustang driver’s estate and survivors and the passenger in that car as well as the persons riding in the SUV that were injured when the Mustang crossed the center line. This driver, when found by the police, will therefore be in a huge amount of trouble both criminally and in terms of civil lawsuits as well.
Contact the Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys of Schwed, Adams & McGinley if You Were Injured in a Hit-and-Run Accident or Were the Victim of Someone’s Road Rage
Although fleeing the scene of an accident is a criminal offense in Florida, drivers nevertheless will often do so. Both hit-and-run accidents and road rage are more common in the Sunshine State than in other states throughout the United States. The personal injury attorneys at Schwed, Adams & McGinley have over 150 years of combined legal experience representing those who have been injured in a variety of motor vehicle and truck accidents, including hit-and-run accidents where the driver at fault fled the scene of the accident after causing injuries and/or property damage to an innocent third party or acted in an instance of road rage and injured our client. Therefore, if you or a loved one have been injured by a driver who fled the scene of an accident or who was acting in a fit of road rage in Florida, please call us today for a free consultation at (877) 694-6079 or email us at contact@schwedlawfirm.com.