The victim’s mother has urged law enforcement authorities to investigate the pedestrian accident, but the lack of publicity in the case has made her uncertain whether or not the police were looking for the driver who struck the young man and fled from the scene. She went public recently with her dissatisfaction about the lack of cooperation and communication in the case.

“They left my son laying face down in a ditch for 45 minutes,” she said this week. “That 45 minutes could have saved my son’s life…My 10-year-old son wants to know why this happened to his brother. I want to have some kind of closure on this—why my baby had to be taken from me. I have not seen anybody since the day they came to my house and told me my son was hit.”

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office were the first to respond to the pedestrian accident, but turned the case over to the Florida Highway Patrol. After the mother made repeated inquiries about the case, Sgt. Kim Montes located the case in the department’s computer system.

“As to why the PIO wasn’t notified, I don’t know,” Montes said after finding the incident report. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to those two investigators yet. Per our policy, they’re supposed to send me a press release on any fatality.”

The computer system shows that the FHP received the call at 8:40 p.m. that evening and arrived on the scene at 9:24 p.m., the victim was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition at about 8:52 p.m. and the parent was notified about the accident around 10:08 p.m. that night. The driver of the vehicle that struck the teen and fled from the scene was identified as a 29-year-old woman also from Okahumpka.

Pedestrian accidents claim over 100 lives each year in Florida, and thousands more suffer severe injuries that require long and expensive stays in the hospital. Expensive medical care and other accident-related expenses cause terrible financial hardship for victims and their families. Orlando pedestrian accident attorney James O. Cunningham has been helping victims and their families receive the compensation they deserve to help with expenses since 1977. If you or someone you care for has been hurt or killed in a pedestrian accident, call the Law Offices of James O. Cunningham today to schedule a free consultation.

They say that the 24-year-old victim was driving along Goldenrod Road arguing with the people in the Altima when she stopped her vehicle in the middle of the road and confronted the people in the other car.

“The victim stopped out here on the roadway and was struck by the other vehicle,” Orange County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Rick Luckey said. “Based on the information we have right now, it doesn’t appear to be an accident. It appears to be an intentional act.”

Local firefighters dispatched were unable to help the Orlando hit-and-run accident victim. Her injuries were too severe, and she died at the scene. Law enforcement officials investigating the accident were still looking for the black Nissan Altima and its passengers when the report was published.

Orlando hit-and-run accident victims face not only a long and expensive road to recovery, they also must contend with for-profit insurance companies. They often need their insurance company’s assistance with paying for their medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, and all the other incidental costs of recovery since Florida is a “no fault” insurance state. In many cases, the costs of recovery exceed the victim’s insurance coverage and victims must contend with unexpected financial costs in addition to medical injuries, and physical and emotional pain.

Orlando hit-and-run accident attorney James O. Cunningham has been helping hit-and-run accident victims for well over 30 years. He assists his clients in a number of ways by negotiating with insurance companies while victims recover from their injuries so that victims receive the compensation they deserve. If you or a loved one has been struck or killed by a hit-and-run driver, please call the Law Offices of James O. Cunningham today to schedule a free consultation. He will explain your options so that you and your family can make informed decisions about what will be best for you.

The September 8, 2009, drunk driving accident resulted in two counts of DUI manslaughter, two counts of DUI property damage and one count of child neglect against the Miramar man. The man was reportedly driving his fiancé’s nine-year-old daughter to school that morning on Pembroke Road when he struck and killed a 43-year-old Davie man. According to arrest records released by Maryland prosecutors, it wasn’t the man’s first arrest for causing an accident while driving drunk.

The records indicated that a sheriff’s deputy in Maryland attempted to pull the man over for speeding in April 2004, but the man refused to comply and a chase ensued at speeds up to 100 mph. The deputy reported that the man had two passengers in the car when he crashed into the back of a pickup truck and kept going during the chase. He then turned onto the street where he lived and jumped out of the vehicle while it was still in gear. When the deputy apprehended the man, a breath test showed that his blood-alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit.

On July 3, 2006, the man led Maryland State Police on another chase in a reportedly stolen car. The man stopped the car at a dead end and attempted to get out when he was arrested. The man smelled of alcohol, had glassy eyes and slurred speech, and again, his BAC was nearly triple the legal limit. A warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear in court for a probation violation and the man later moved to Florida. He was issued a Florida driver’s license two weeks before authorities suspended his Maryland driver’s license.

In 2007, drunk drivers killed 1111 people on Florida roadways and thousands more suffered injuries that required hospitalization. Florida ranks third in the country behind California and Texas, respectively, in people killed every year by drunk drivers. If you or a member of your family has been injured or killed by a drunk driver, call Orlando drunk driving accident attorney James O. Cunningham today to schedule a free consultation.