Not far from my home in North Miami Beach, a shrine marks the spot where a 10-year old boy named Anthony Reznik was struck and killed in the crosswalk by a driver who blew a red light.
No such shrine marks the spot just a few blocks from my office in North Miami where three teenage boys en-route to a soccer tournament were mowed down on the sidewalk by a drunk driver. But the loss of life is certainly no less tragic.
These incidents comprise examples of a disturbing truth: Florida has the greatest number of pedestrian fatalities in the United States–people killed while on foot by careless, or reckless and wanton drivers. And the numbers are still going up, 899 pedestrian deaths last year–a 31 percent increase over the year before. A profile of such cases:
The most likely victims are children or elderly.
Most occur in the evening or at night
The most likely offenders are drivers under the influence or distracted with cell use, or those rolling a stop sign.
The most likely places are intersections, roadsides or shoulders and parking areas
Many are hit-and-run
Obtaining justice for many of these tragic losses can be highly problematical. The at fault driver cannot be identified, or they are not insured, and in many cases, they cannot be prosecuted criminally for lack of evidence showing criminality as opposed to simple carelessness.
Counsel’s best advice is not much different from what your mother would say: You need to be aware of where you are, and what’s going on around you all the time, and if you let your guard down, catastrophe can occur. And even then, it may not be enough.
