JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol has a warning for drivers all across Florida.
The state has seen an increase of deadly hit-and-run crashes over the last two years and that has troopers out in force, cracking down as part of a new campaign.
The month-long push aims to reduce the number of these crashes.
"My family and I would like to have closure. I mean why did you hit him and just keep on moving? Were you drunk? Were you driving without a license? Those are questions that have to be answered," George Gillis said.
It's been a little over a year since George Gillis' 19-year-old nephew, Christopher McDowell, was killed in a hit-and-run crash while walking home on St. Johns Bluff Road.
"Someday somebody just might walk up or speak up and say, 'I'm sorry,'" Gillis said.
McDowell's body was found on the side of the road by a Jacksonville Sheriff's officer -- and the driver has still not been caught.
FHP spokesman Sgt. Dylan Bryan said he's seen too many fatal hit-and-run crashes. He said many times if the person responsible for the crash would have stopped and called police, a life could have been saved.
"No matter what is involved in the case or what you may be experiencing it is always better to stay," Bryan said. "Put yourself in that victim's shoes. What would you want that other person to do, that other driver to do?"
Troopers around Florida are trying to reduce the number of hit-and-run crashes by educating drivers on their responsibilities if involved in a crash.
According to FHP:
– 25 percent of all wrecks are hit-and-run crashes.
– The number of deadly hit-and-run crashes went up 23 percent from 2013 to 2014.
– Nearly half of the fatalities in 2014 involved pedestrians, up 17 percent from 2013.
"Some of these result in fatal injuries and the family is left with open questions and regardless of how serious, people need to take responsibility for their actions," Bryan said.
The law changed in July 2014, making the consequences more severe if a driver leaves the scene of a crash. It requires a driver involved in a crash resulting in serious bodily injury to stop and remain at the scene.
The new law changes the charge for leaving the scene of a crash resulting in serious bodily injury to a second-degree felony, rather than a third-degree felony.
The minimum sentence is four years for a driver convicted of leaving the scene of a crash resulting in death.
Gillis hopes this new campaign will make a difference, maybe even in his nephew's case.
"I think it's a good thing," Gillis said. "I hope they hear about it. I hope they see it, and I hope all of them will come forward and turn themselves in."