A late-night collision on State Road 574 left a 17-year-old Seffner driver dead and a 40-year-old Mulberry man seriously injured Saturday, and now troopers are searching for a pickup driver they say ran from the scene on foot.
According to troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol, the three-vehicle crash happened around 10:56 p.m. on April 11 on SR 574 just west of Chastain Road, Tampa Free Press reports.
Investigators said the chain reaction started when a Nissan Versa, driven by the Mulberry man, crossed into the westbound lane and slammed into an oncoming Volkswagen Passat driven by the Seffner teen. The almost head-on impact spun both cars into the middle of the roadway, leaving them disabled in traffic.
Troopers said a westbound Ford F-150 then crashed into the disabled Volkswagen. The driver of that pickup took off on foot instead of staying at the scene, according to FHP.
Emergency crews transported both the Versa driver and the teen driver to a nearby hospital. Medical staff later confirmed the 17-year-old died from trauma related to the crash, while the Mulberry driver remains hospitalized with serious injuries.
Hit-and-run context and state guidance
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says hit-and-run collisions remain a stubborn and deadly problem across the state. Its hit-and-run awareness page reports about 104,273 hit-and-run crashes in 2023, resulting in 271 deaths and 871 serious injuries.
To push those numbers down, the agency runs a “Stay at the Scene” campaign that urges drivers to remain at crash scenes and help when someone is hurt or killed. The campaign highlights how dangerous it can be for vulnerable road users when a driver leaves, especially in low-light conditions where injured people or disabled vehicles may be harder to spot.
Potential legal consequences
Florida law requires drivers involved in crashes with injuries or fatalities to stop, provide identification and offer reasonable assistance. Leaving in those situations is not just bad form, it can be a felony if serious injury or death is involved.
Those duties and potential penalties are laid out in Florida Statutes, Chapter 316, which prosecutors routinely rely on in fatal hit-and-run cases.
Troopers are asking anyone who saw the Ford F-150 or who has information on the driver who took off to contact the Florida Highway Patrol or Crime Stoppers, Tampa Free Press reports. The investigation remains active as authorities work to track down the pickup driver.
