Yellow could be added to Florida's spectrum of colors used for coded highway alerts with the bright hue denoting a hit-and-run incident.
Tracy Miller of Fort Myers is no stranger to the hit-and-run issue and is pushing for adoption of the Yellow Alert in the Sunshine State. Her son,18-year-old Adam King, was killed in one such crash June 19, 2016 along Colonial Boulevard.
"Well, i first found out about it online and then, had that been in place, the yellow alert, I know Adam's killer would have been caught that night," Miller said. "Because of the damage to his car, the roads he was on. He wouldn't have made it a mile, because of how fast the police were on the scene."
Adam Costello, 43, of Fort Myers, pleaded no contest in March to leaving the scene of a crash involving a death. His plea deal included a sentence of 10 ½ years and he will serve a sentence of five years for tampering with evidence, which will run concurrently with the 10 ½-year sentence.
A second man, James Daniel Sinclair, 51, has been charged with evidence tampering, perjury in an official proceeding and obstructing a law enforcement officer without violence. His case is in pre-trial status.
Several states, notably California and Maryland, already have implemented yellow in their highway alerts system.
Amber Alerts and Silver Alerts are in place in Florida to help spot vehicles with missing children, or seniors.
Florida state Sen. David Simmons of Longwood north of Orlando has proposed a bill for activating a yellow alert and is considering introducing it during the 2019 legislative session.
"The issue will be looked into between now and the legislation filing deadline for the 2019 Legislative session, which will start March 5," Carolyn Green, a spokeswoman for Simmon's office, said.
Miller said support for a yellow alert is strong in Southwest Florida with law enforcement, the state attorney's office and Mothers Against Drunk Driving all offering support.
"We know from supporting similar bills in other states, it's just vital to be able to find someone that leaves the scene of a crash," said Lori Burke, program director for MADD Southwest Florida. "We know there are close to 100,000 hit-and-runs in our state every year and Lee County actually has disproportionately too many ... so this would just be vital."
Statewide in 2017, there were more than 98,000 hit-and-run crashes. That's a similar number from previous years: 101,574 in 2016, 94,444 in 2015 and 85,161 in 2014.
Lee County ranked eighth statewide for hit-and-run crashes in 2017 with 2,981 resulting in eight deaths. Collier was 17th with 1,100 hit-and-runs and two deaths.
The state's numbers include that one in four crashes result in a hit-and-run and those aged 20 to 29 accounted for a third of all hit-and-run charges, with nearly 70 percent of those being male.
Leaving the scene of a crash with personal or property damage can increase the penalties as well as the chances that injuries of those hurt will be more severe.
For property damage cases, charges are a second-degree misdemeanor with up to 60 days in prison and a $500 fine.
Hit-and-run crashes with injuries are a second- or third-degree felony with revocation of license for at least three years and up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Cases involving fatalities are a first-degree felony with revocation of license for at least three years and a mandatory minimum of four years in prison up to 30 years and a $10,000 fine.
"Under Florida law, if you are involved in a crash, you must immediately stop your vehicle and remain on scene," said Lt. Greg Bueno, public information officer at Troop F of the FHP in Lee County." A law enforcement officer must conduct an investigation and document that investigation on a report."
Bueno said only if the damage is minor, and both parties agree, can they simply exchange insurance information and depart.
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