PINELLAS PARK, Fla. (WFLA) — A new report is shedding light on just how many people have been killed on U.S. Highway 19, something Karine Burkhardt knows all too well.
“My daughter just crossed the street to go find a gas station that was open and she never came back,” Burkhardt said.
Tarpon Springs police said Burkhardt’s daughter, 17-year-old Mia Schoen was crossing US 19 on March 28, 2023, when she was hit and killed by a dark gray, 2017 limited edition Toyota Tundra pickup truck.
Police said that driver then fled the scene.
Burkhardt said she still wants justice more than a year later.
“It makes you angry to know that someone can hit someone to the point where someone dies, look out his car window, pop a U-turn and leave the scene and still not be found,” she said. “That is something I have a hard time getting peace with.”
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Courtesy: Karine Burkhardt -
Courtesy: Karine Burkhardt
Schoen’s family is just one of thousands across Florida, grieving the loss of a loved one killed in a crash.