Published on Saturday, August 5, 2006
in the Orlando Sentinel

Why are hit-run drivers fleeing?

Three fatal hit-and-run accidents in less than a week have left authorities and victims' family members looking for answers to the question: How can someone leave another person to die on the road?

Seven people have been killed in hit-and-run accidents in Orange County so far this year. That's a huge spike from three such fatalities in all of 2005. In the six-county region covered by the local Florida Highway Patrol, 13 people have died in hit-and-run accidents this year -- a figure on track to exceed last year's total of 19.

Law-enforcement officers blame everything from violent video games to a deteriorating society to simple panic, while safety experts point to the state's minimal drivers-education standards. But the short answer is: Nobody knows why.

Trooper Kim Miller, spokeswoman for the FHP, was frustrated after a week of manhunts that she called an "epidemic" and a growing "trend."

She suspects the younger drivers are scared and often are not where they're supposed to be. In other situations, drivers may be drunk, driving without a license or insurance, or -- as in the case of the driver arrested after crashing into a Haines City police officer Wednesday -- in the country illegally.

"Even though you're scared, doesn't the human side of you come out and say, 'Maybe I can do something?' " Miller said. "There's no dialogue being discussed about what you're supposed to do and what you should do."

In many cases, the killer is never caught because there are few clues and often no witnesses. But since Saturday, three hit-and-runs that killed a 20-year-old woman and two law-enforcement officers in separate accidents resulted in arrests, thanks to witnesses and passengers.

Glenn Victor, spokesman for The Florida Safety Council, said drivers' excuses range from wanting to avoid trouble to instinctively hitting the gas pedal. But once hit-and-run drivers are caught, ticketed and sent to a safety class, he said, many are remorseful and cannot believe they left an accident scene.

The council, an Orlando-based nonprofit established in 1953 to promote auto safety, offers two classes that teach fleeing offenders about making better choices and modifying their behavior.

"It has a lot to do with our personal value system. People think they are above the law," Victor said. "We're not talking about bad people. We're talking about good people making bad choices."

Compared with other countries -- such as Norway, where drivers must learn how to administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation before receiving a license -- driver education here is minimal. Victor said most classes in the United States teach only driving techniques and traffic laws.

"There has to be some behavioral education in the courses," he said, "not just how to steer and brake a car."

Holly Hill police Sgt. Forrest Currie said there have been four hit-and-run fatalities in that Volusia County city in the past four years. He said people sometimes flee after an accident out of fear that they will go to prison, when in fact they may not even be responsible.

"They think that if they hit someone, they are automatically going to prison," he said. "But if it's an accident -- if you are not at fault in the crash -- you are not going to be charged with a person's death."

But when people do leave the scene of an accident -- even one in which they are not at fault -- they are automatically charged with a second-degree felony, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

Eustis police Chief Fred Cobb, a neighbor of Orange County Deputy Michael Callin, who died Wednesday night from injuries received in a hit-and-run a day earlier, said drivers often flee in panic. But that should not excuse their behavior, he said.

"They're just uncaring," he said. "They're more concerned about getting a ticket than helping a fellow human being."

A local psychologist says humans respond to a crisis in one of three ways: fight, flight or freeze.

Dr. Judi Addelston, who teaches psychology at Valencia Community College, said a person's personality, upbringing and the circumstances surrounding an accident all contribute to a motorist's decision to flee or stay.

She said people need logical explanations for the recent rash of fatal hit-and-run accidents in Orange County, which is on a pace to quadruple last year's total, but such explanations are not readily apparent.

"It's too easy to say it's the moral fabric of our society," Addelston said. "If it was that simple, it would be so much easier for all of us."

Heather Mobley's family will bury her today, a week after a 2001 Hummer hit her Ford Escort head-on as the driver attempted to illegally pass a car in front of him in west Orange County. Three passengers in the Hummer escaped injury, but none went to Mobley's aid.

The driver disappeared until Tuesday, when Javier Trevino limped into the Orange County Jail on crutches and was charged with vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of a crash.

Mobley's brother, Bridges, said he doesn't feel hate but has pity for the driver.

"To me, he's an animal," said Mobley, 24. "Even if she couldn't have been helped, he should've stayed."