JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Family members identified a man who police said was killed in a hit-and-run on Atlantic Boulevard near Century Street on Thursday night in Jacksonville’s Woodland Acres neighborhood.
Investigators with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Friday were still looking for the driver of the car that struck Curt Scott, 34. Loved ones say he was an Army veteran.
Scott’s sister, Victoria Wilcher, spoke with News4JAX by phone. She said her brother was dedicated to his family and friends.
“He was a funny guy. He loved to work. He might have had issues back in the past, but he changed his life,” Wilcher said.
She said her brother was on the way to the store when he was struck in the middle of the busy road. Wilcher believes Scott fell and didn’t have enough time to move out of harms way.
According to police, two cars were able to swerve out of the way, but a third vehicle hit Scott. The driver did not stop to help.
“I could understand if it was a dog or a cat, and you kept on going, but this was a person that was living, that had a life, that had a family that loved him dearly,” Wilcher said.
It’s the third deadly hit-and-run in Duval County in just eight days.
Last Thursday, two pedestrians were hit near West 44th Street. One of them died.
Just a day later, police said a man was killed at the intersection of Phillips Highway and University Boulevard.
“Just please come forward, turn yourself in,” Wilcher said of the driver who hit her brother. “We aren’t here to argue with you. We don’t want nothing from you. We just want the truth.”
Nahum Abreu owns an auto body shop nearby and witnessed the aftermath.
“It’s a very problematic area right there. That’s not the first accident that I see,” he said.
It does not have a pedestrian crosswalk nearby.
Derek Smith says traffic along Atlantic is always a mess.
“The traffic is bad. If you’re gonna come through here at 3, 4, 5 o’clock in the afternoon, don’t do it,” Smith said.
Smith hopes a pedestrian walkway will be added.
“I believe that it would be good if they put a light or something there,” Abreu said. “I think I would feel more secure.”
There is no information about the vehicle that was involved. Anyone with information is asked to contact authorities or submit an anonymous tip to First Coast Crime Stoppers.