A 34-year-old Bradenton woman is facing a felony charge after police say she struck a pedestrian walking his bicycle across 14th Street West late Saturday night and drove away, leaving the man hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. Lindsey Gore was located and arrested in connection with the crash, which happened around 10:50 p.m. in the 1900 block of the busy commercial corridor.
According to the Bradenton Police Department, the victim was walking his bicycle across 14th Street West when he was struck by a white Toyota 4Runner. He was transported to the hospital, where he remains in critical condition with what police describe as serious, life-threatening injuries. The suspect vehicle, which police say has front headlight damage consistent with the collision, was later recovered.
Gore has been charged with hit-and-run causing serious bodily injury, police said. Under Florida law, leaving the scene of a crash that causes serious bodily injury is a second-degree felony, and Florida Statute § 316.027(2)(b) sets the maximum penalty at up to 15 years in prison, up to 15 years of probation, and a fine of as much as $10,000, according to Leppard Law. State statute defines serious bodily injury as any condition that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious disfigurement, or results in protracted loss or impairment of a body part or organ, per The Traffic Stop.
What Florida Law Requires of Drivers
Florida Statute § 316.062 requires every driver involved in a crash that causes injury or death to stop immediately, remain at the scene, exchange identification and registration information, and render reasonable aid, including arranging for medical transport, Leppard Law notes. Drivers who flee before meeting those obligations face automatic felony exposure if the crash caused injury. A conviction on a hit-and-run charge involving serious bodily injury also triggers an automatic minimum three-year revocation of the driver's license, enforced by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, according to Pallegar Law.
Bradenton police are still asking anyone with information about the crash to come forward. Tipsters can call 941-932-9300 or 941-932-9377, or email either [email protected] or [email protected].
A Dangerous Stretch of Road
The crash unfolded on a section of 14th Street West, also known as US-41 Business, that is known for heavy commercial traffic, multiple travel lanes, bus stops, and frequent mid-block pedestrian crossings with limited nighttime visibility, according to the law firm Goldman Babboni Fernandez Murphy & Walsh. It is not the first fatal or near-fatal hit-and-run along that corridor. In April 2023, the same police department investigated a separate fatal hit-and-run just blocks away near 21st Avenue West, in which a vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian crossing the road before fleeing.
Manatee County recorded 186 pedestrian crashes in 2022 alone, resulting in 24 pedestrian deaths, with those collisions heavily concentrated along commercial corridors like 14th Street West, the same firm reports. That local pattern reflects a larger statewide trend. Florida saw 92,381 hit-and-run crashes in 2025 that resulted in 180 deaths, a 5.7% decrease from the 97,999 recorded in 2024, according to data compiled by Swope, Rodante P.A.
Pedestrians Bear a Disproportionate Toll
Even as overall hit-and-run numbers ticked down, pedestrians continue to absorb an outsized share of Florida's traffic deaths. The state logged 10,736 pedestrian crashes in 2025 resulting in 614 deaths — meaning pedestrian collisions made up less than 3% of all traffic incidents statewide but accounted for more than 20% of traffic fatalities, according to USA Today. Federal data cited in that same analysis ranks Florida fourth nationally for its pedestrian fatality rate, at 3.41 deaths per 100,000 residents, well above the national average of 2.18.
The victim in Saturday's crash remains hospitalized as of this writing, and police have not released further details on his condition. Court records in Manatee County will show the terms of Gore's arraignment and any bail conditions as the case moves forward.
