A driver fleeing on foot after slamming her car into a car wash sign is now the subject of a St. Petersburg police search, after she struck a man riding an e-bike in the early morning hours and abandoned the vehicle at the scene. The crash happened shortly after 1 a.m. yesterday in the 200 block of 34th Street North, leaving the rider with non-life-threatening injuries and investigators scrambling to identify the woman who ran.
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, reporter Kailey Tracy detailed how St. Petersburg police are actively searching for the hit-and-run driver who injured the e-bike rider. The St. Petersburg Police Department reported that the driver, behind the wheel of a Honda Accord, struck the e-bike rider before losing control and crashing into a car wash sign, at which point she abandoned her vehicle and fled on foot, per the department’s account relayed by Tampa Bay News on Facebook.
The e-bike rider was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries described as non-life-threatening, according to a report from The Daily News Now. Investigators are still working to identify the female suspect who fled the scene.
A Legal Duty to Stay, and a Felony for Leaving
Under Florida Statute § 316.027(2)(a), leaving the scene of a crash involving personal injury is a third-degree felony, carrying up to five years in state prison, a $5,000 fine, and mandatory revocation of the driver’s license, according to Online Sunshine, the state’s official statutes portal. Florida law imposes a strict duty on all drivers involved in a crash to remain at the scene and render aid, regardless of who caused the initial collision…