Fired deputy charged with crimes had troubled past in law enforcementNew resolution could help fend off FEMA’s threat to pull flood insurance discount
MGN FORT MYERS, Fla.- There’s been an alarming increase in the number of deadly hit-and-run crashes in Florida in the past two years and Southwest Florida is no exception. Now, the Florida Highway Patrol is taking action by launching a campaign aimed at drivers. In 2014, FHP responded to more than 84,000 hit-and run-crashes statewide. That’s nearly 6,000 more than the year before. More than 3,200 hit and runs were in Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties. In January, 27-year-old Evan Shepherd lost his life in a hit-and-run accident at the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Palm Boulevard. “Having the case unresolved has definitely been difficult, knowing that there’s still unanswered questions,” said Shepherd’s mother Patricia Sala. “I didn’t realize until three weeks ago when this happened to our family, how often this does happen. Everyday this is happening throughout our state, and we have so much compassion for the other families that have experienced this before we did.” Monday, FHP held news conferences in Fort Myers and across the state, trying to raise awareness about what they’re calling an epidemic. In November 2014, Charles Snyder, a father of two, was hit and killed while riding his bike in Lehigh Acres. The driver responsible was never arrested. Also last November, 25-year-old Crystal Olvera, a mother of two, was killed after being hit by a car outside an Immokalee Winn-Dixie. Investigators are still running tests on a suspect vehicle, but the driver was never found. FHP is also still looking for a dark colored sedan that hit and killed Robert Colantonio of Naples while he was riding his motorcycle on I-75 in January. The car that hit Sala’s son was found abandoned days after his death. She’s not giving up hope that the driver will be found as well. “We feel very confident that this is gonna get resolved, it’s just gonna take time.” FHP is reminding drivers to never leave the scene of an accident. If you leave the scene of a fatal crash, you could face up to 30 years in prison.