More than three times a day, on average, a driver leaves the scene of a crash somewhere in Pasco County. That is not an estimate. Neighborhood News, citing the FLHSMV Florida Crash Dashboard, reported that between January 1 and November 14, 2025, Pasco County recorded 1,107 hit-and-run crashes out of 5,866 total crashes. Of those, 385 involved injuries and one was fatal.
If you were one of the people left behind, this post explains what the law requires of the driver who left, who pays when that driver is never found, and what to do in the first hours.
What the driver who left was required to do
Florida law does not leave room for argument. Fla. Stat. § 316.027 requires a driver involved in a crash that causes injury or death to stop immediately at the scene, or as close as possible, and remain there until they have given their name, address, registration and, on request, their license, and rendered reasonable aid, as § 316.062 requires. Even a crash that only damages property requires the driver to stop under § 316.061.
The penalties for willfully leaving:
- Injury: third-degree felony.
- Serious bodily injury: second-degree felony.
- Death: first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of four years in prison.
A driver convicted under § 316.027 loses their license for at least three years and must be ordered to pay restitution to the victim unless the court finds clear and compelling reasons not to.
Those penalties explain the behavior. Drivers leave because they are impaired, unlicensed, uninsured, driving someone else's car or have a warrant. That matters for your claim, because the driver who left is, more often than not, a driver with no bodily injury coverage even if found.
Who pays when the driver is gone
Your PIP pays first, no matter what
Florida is a no-fault state. Your own Personal Injury Protection coverage under Fla. Stat. § 627.736 pays 80 percent of medical bills and 60 percent of lost wages up to $10,000, regardless of fault and regardless of whether the other driver is ever identified. The 14-day rule still applies: get initial care within two weeks or PIP pays nothing for medical expenses.
If you were on foot or on a bicycle, your own auto policy's PIP applies if you own an insured car or live with a relative who does.
Your UM coverage is the remedy Florida gives you
Uninsured motorist coverage under Fla. Stat. § 627.727 exists for exactly this situation. Most Florida UM policies define an uninsured motor vehicle to include a hit-and-run vehicle whose owner or operator cannot be identified. Your own insurer then stands in the shoes of the driver who left, and you claim against your own policy for the medical bills PIP did not cover, lost wages and, if your injury clears the permanency threshold in Fla. Stat. § 627.737(2), pain and suffering.
Three things to know about UM in a hit-and-run:
- It is optional, and many Pasco drivers rejected it. Florida requires only $10,000 in PIP and $10,000 in property damage liability, according to FLHSMV. UM is offered with every policy, but it can be rejected in writing. Here is why we tell everyone to carry it.
- Policies have notice requirements. Most require that a hit-and-run be reported to police promptly and to the insurer within a short time. Do both the same day.
- Your insurer is now your opponent. Once you make a UM claim, your own company evaluates it the way the other driver's insurer would, including arguing fault under the 51 percent rule in Fla. Stat. § 768.81(6). Our post on talking to adjusters applies to your own carrier too.
If you have UM coverage and were hit by a driver who left, call (240) 421-5511 before you give your insurer a recorded statement. If you are not sure whether you have it, send us the declarations page and we will tell you.
If the driver is found
Law enforcement does find some hit-and-run drivers, through license plate readers, surveillance video and tips. In November 2025, Spectrum Bay News 9 reported that the Florida Highway Patrol had released gas station surveillance photos of an SUV believed to have struck a pedestrian on Boyette Road near Wesley Chapel and driven away. When the driver is identified, a claim against their bodily injury coverage, if any, is added to the UM claim, and the criminal restitution order becomes another avenue.
What to do in the first hour
- Do not chase. People get hurt following a driver who already showed they will not stop.
- Call 911 immediately. A hit-and-run with injury is a felony, and the sooner the call goes out, the better the odds of a stop. Tell dispatch the direction of travel.
- Record what you saw. Make, model, color, any part of the plate, damage to the vehicle, number of occupants, anything about the driver. Say it into your phone's voice recorder before the details fade.
- Find witnesses and cameras. Other drivers, people at bus stops, the gas station on the corner, Ring doorbells on a residential street. Businesses along US-19 and SR-54 overwrite video in days.
- Photograph everything. Your vehicle, the debris, paint transfer, the road.
- Get medical care today. It starts the PIP clock and documents the injury.
- Report to your own insurer the same day, and decline a recorded statement until you have talked to a lawyer.
Where the investigation goes
Inside Port Richey, New Port Richey, Zephyrhills or Dade City, the city police investigate. In unincorporated Pasco, the Sheriff's Office says the Florida Highway Patrol handles most crash investigations. FHP accepts tips by dialing *347 from a cell phone. Your crash report will be available through the Florida Crash Portal; here is how to get it. Ask the investigating officer for the report number before you leave the scene.
Victims of hit-and-run crashes may also be eligible for help from Florida's crime victim compensation program under chapter 960, which can assist with medical expenses and lost wages when no other source pays.
Deadlines
The two-year limitations period in Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a) runs from the date of the crash, not from the date the driver is identified. UM claims are governed by your policy's terms and the contract limitations period, and some policies add their own notice deadlines. Do not wait for the police to find the driver before protecting your claim.
Call (240) 421-5511 and we will open the PIP claim, put your UM carrier on notice, and start the search for video the same day.
Talk to a Port Richey hit-and-run accident lawyer today
Conde-Huggins Accident Injury Lawyers is on Ridge Road in Port Richey, between US-19 and Little Road. We handle hit-and-run car accident and pedestrian accident claims across Port Richey, New Port Richey, Hudson, Wesley Chapel and all of Pasco County, and we meet clients at home or in the hospital. Our attorney, Clementine Conde, has practiced in Florida courts since 1992. Call (240) 421-5511 any time. Free consultation, no attorney's fee unless we win.
Questions people ask us about hit-and-run in pasco county: what to do when the driver who hit you is gone cases
How common are hit-and-run crashes in Pasco County?
Very. Neighborhood News reported in November 2025, citing the FLHSMV Florida Crash Dashboard, that Pasco County had 1,107 hit-and-run crashes between January 1 and November 14, 2025, out of 5,866 total crashes. That is close to one crash in five. Of those, 385 involved injuries and one was fatal. Statewide, the same dashboard showed 78,418 hit-and-run crashes in the same period.
Who pays my medical bills if the driver who hit me is never found?
Your own PIP coverage pays first, up to $10,000, under Fla. Stat. § 627.736, no matter who was at fault or whether they were identified. Beyond that, your uninsured motorist coverage under Fla. Stat. § 627.727 is the main source. Most Florida UM policies treat an unidentified hit-and-run driver as an uninsured driver. If you have no UM coverage, the options narrow to health insurance, MedPay and any recovery from the driver if police later find them.
What is the penalty for leaving the scene of a crash in Florida?
Under Fla. Stat. § 316.027, willfully leaving the scene of a crash involving injury is a third-degree felony, leaving one involving serious bodily injury is a second-degree felony, and leaving one involving death is a first-degree felony with a four-year mandatory minimum prison sentence. The driver's license is revoked for at least three years, and the court must order restitution to the victim. Leaving a crash that caused only property damage is a misdemeanor under Fla. Stat. § 316.061.
The driver did not hit me but forced me off the road and left. Is that covered?
Sometimes. Florida calls this a phantom vehicle case, and UM policies differ on whether they require physical contact or independent corroboration before paying. Report it to law enforcement and to your own insurer right away, note every detail of the vehicle, and look for witnesses or cameras. A lawyer should read your policy before the insurer tells you what it covers.