It started out as an accident and immediately turned into a crime.  A driver hit a 57 year old pedestrian on Fruitville Road in Sarasota County.  Instead of stopping to get help, the driver took off to get away.  The man walking across the road died.  Police later arrested a 39 year old man  accused of the hit and run, and booked him on drug charges.  The family of the dead pedestrian has to wonder if things could have turned out differently if the driver had only stopped and called for  help.   Link to Sarasota Herald Tribune article.

What makes a hit and run driver take off instead of stopping?  Sometimes the driver panics.  They act irrationally and do the first thing that comes to them- they run.  But other hit and run drivers may be scared of getting in trouble, especially if they've been drinking or have something illegal in their car.  These drivers make a decision to run if they've got something to hide, or something to loose.  Unfortunately, the person who looses the most is the victim.  In Sarasota and Manatee Counties, hit and run accidents are more common that you'd expect.   And for pedestrians involved in hit and run accidents, the outcome is often deadly. 

What should you do after a hit and run accident?

1.  Call 911 and get immediate medical attention.

2.  Report everything you can about the car, the driver, the circumstances to the police as soon as possible.  If you can, write down the details of what happened immediately so you don't have to rely only on your memory.  Or have someone else write this down for you.

3.  If it's possible, get photos of the accident scene and get the names of witnesses.

4.  Contact an attorney like the lawyers at Buckman and Buckman, P.A. in Sarasota or Manatee counties for more information about what you can do if you're the victim of a hit and run car accident, motorcycle accident or a pedestrian accident. 

E-mail us at attorney@buckmanandbuckman.com, call our offices at (941) 923-7700, or fill out the contact form at the top of this page.