Possible Hit-and-Run Under Investigation in Lakeland

Officers working with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office are in the process of investigating a roadside fatality that may be a hit-and-run scenario that took place sometime during the night of Saturday, June 15th, or during the early morning of Sunday, June 16th. Reports issued from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office are currently somewhat bare as the incident was not seen by witnesses, leaving the police struggling with an upsetting lack of details relating to the crash.

Sometime around 6:40 on the morning of Sunday, June 16th, a body of a young woman was found in the grass median separating the eastern and western lanes of U.S. Highway 92 within the city limits of Lakeland. It is not clear if the body was spotted by another motorist or if the police were the first to spot and report the incident.

In the investigation that followed, the authorities managed to identify the person as a 22-year-old Sebring resident. It was reported that her body showed evidence of minor trauma. The initial investigative team also reported that it seemed though the young woman’s leg was broken. She was not alive when the police reached the area.

The report concluded with the request that anyone who may have been driving along U.S. Highway 92 during the night of the 16th and the morning of the 17th to look back through their memory and see if they noticed anything unusual. Police are also asking that anyone who might have been passing along this stretch of the highway between 5:30 in the morning and 6:30 in the morning to call them regardless of whether or not they remember anything.

Hit-and-run accidents are a major issue throughout the United States, but are particularly prevalent in Florida. Each year, hundreds of hit-and-runs occur in our state, with only a small handful ever truly solved. The ones that are solved are almost always done so because of the courage and outreach of people who have a tip, notice something unusual, or are personally connected to the individual or individuals responsible for the incident. In the case reported on above, it is the hope of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office that just such a breakthrough will take place in this investigation.

Sources:

• Polk County Sheriff’s Office investigating possible hit-and-run in Lakeland

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.