FORT MYERS, Fla. — There were more than 108,000 hit and run crashes in Florida in 2021, according to Florida Highway Patrol. That number jumped 17% from 2020.
But behind the numbers are real people and their families. Many of them still grieving after losing a loved one in a hit-and-run crash.
“I used to sit there all the time when I’d hear this stuff and think that breaks my heart, but that would never happen to me. But it happened. My daughter was in the middle of the ditch walking..they’re never that safe,” said Christine Gray.
In 2020, Gray lost her daughter, Allana Staiano, in a hit-and-run crash in North Fort Myers. Her daughter’s killer, Courtney Gainey, is spending 30 years behind bars.
Gray acknowledged not all families get the closure she did.
“I think there will always be suffering,” said Phisch Ross.
Ross is the boyfriend of Anita Johnson who was hit and killed in January of 2020 while walking with her poodle. The driver, Rosalia Diaz, is still on the run.
“It’s very difficult. We know who she is and knowing she’s running out there enjoying freedom and her family and we’re missing a member of our family,” said Ross.
Florida Highway Patrol said in 2021, one out of every four drivers involved in a crash left the scene.
“I tell people all the time, if you’re ignoring the problem, then you’re part of the problem,” said Gray.
You can find a list of active hit and run cases county by county on FHP’s website.
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