Jack Reid was driving along U.S. 19 near Spring Hill Drive around 1:30 a.m. on September 27 when a gray or silver pickup truck approached from behind and, while attempting to move into the next lane, clipped a corner of his car, sending it flipping and spinning across the road before the truck sped off into the dark. Reid walked away without major injuries, but his car was totaled, and now he is asking the public to help him find the driver who left him stranded on the pavement.
According to FOX 13 Tampa Bay, the Hernando Beach father says he is grateful just to be alive after the crash, which his dash camera captured in full. The footage shows his car spinning into the opposite side of the street after impact, and Reid hopes sharing it will help identify the truck.
A Dangerous Stretch of Road With a History
Investigators have not publicly identified the driver who fled, and the search for the truck is ongoing. This is not the first time a pickup driver has eluded authorities in Hernando County after a crash — in July, deputies arrested a 31-year-old man who allegedly struck two patrol vehicles in Weeki Wachee while trying to escape officers following a reported hit-and-run, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay. That driver was ultimately charged with DUI and refusal to submit.
U.S. 19, also known as Commercial Way, is considered a high-collision corridor by regional traffic safety experts because of its high speed limits, commercial density, and frequent lane changes near major junctions like Spring Hill Drive, according to the Fiol & Morros Law Group. The firm notes that population growth in western Hernando County has outpaced the expansion of its roadway infrastructure, a mismatch that shows up in the crash numbers. Hernando County recorded 2,616 total traffic crashes resulting in 2,010 injuries in 2024, according to state crash figures compiled by Cornerstone auto market research.
Hit-and-Runs Are a Persistent Problem Locally and Statewide
Reid's case fits into a broader pattern. Hernando County saw 380 hit-and-run crashes between January and September 2025 alone, with major arterial corridors repeatedly identified as recurring crash zones, as Hoodline previously reported. Statewide, the problem is even starker: roughly 25 percent of all motor vehicle crashes in Florida involve a driver who leaves the scene, amounting to more than 104,000 hit-and-run incidents in 2023, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Timing appears to matter. State data shows that over 81 percent of all hit-and-run fatalities in Florida occur during dawn, dusk, or nighttime conditions, with total statewide hit-and-run fatalities reaching 271 in 2023, per the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Reid's crash, happening around 1:30 in the morning on a dark stretch of highway, falls squarely into that higher-risk window.
What the Fleeing Driver Could Face
If identified, the driver who hit Reid's car could face serious legal consequences. Under Florida Statute § 316.027, leaving the scene of a crash involving personal injury is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a mandatory driver's license revocation of at least three years, according to the Sammis Law Firm. Leaving the scene of a crash involving only property damage, by contrast, is treated as a second-degree misdemeanor.
Florida's penalties for fleeing fatal crashes are even steeper. The state's Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act, passed in 2014, imposes a mandatory minimum four-year prison sentence for drivers convicted of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, according to the Florida Senate. That law was created following the death of a 31-year-old cyclist.
For now, Reid is left waiting as the Hernando County Sheriff's Office works the case, relying on his dash cam footage and tips from the community to track down the truck that left him spinning across U.S. 19. No arrests have been announced.
