A hit-and-run crash near the University of Central Florida sent three high school students and four others to the hospital Friday night, after a car collided with two other vehicles and a group of pedestrians. Troopers say the driver responsible for striking the pedestrians fled the scene, leaving behind a chaotic stretch of road near one of the area's most popular college hangouts.
According to WKMG ClickOrlando, the crash involved three cars total, with one vehicle colliding with the two others as well as four pedestrians. The outlet places the crash near University Boulevard and Technological Avenue, by the Knight Library bar, while FOX 35 describes the location as near University Boulevard and Technology Avenue, less than a mile west of UCF. The discrepancy in the street name has not been resolved between the two reports.
Of the four pedestrians struck, one suffered serious injuries while the other three sustained minor injuries, and all four were taken to the hospital, per the ClickOrlando report. At least three of the pedestrians were high-school students, according to Orange County Fire Rescue as relayed by News 6. A fifth pedestrian was reportedly also involved in the crash but refused transport to the hospital.
Conflicting Patient Counts Emerge
The station's report and FOX 35's account diverge on the total number of people hurt. FOX 35 reported eight patients overall, with seven transported to hospitals and one refusing treatment, a figure that does not line up cleanly with the four-pedestrian count described in the other outlet's reporting. Neither report reconciles the two tallies, and no official casualty count has been independently confirmed.
FOX 35 reported that the driver of the unidentified vehicle fled the scene after the crash, citing the Florida Highway Patrol. The agency is leading what the station described as an active criminal investigation, with the Orange County Sheriff's Office also investigating.
What Florida Law Says About Fleeing a Crash
Under Florida Statute 316.027, a driver involved in a crash that causes injury is required to stop and remain at the scene until fulfilling separate requirements laid out under state law, according to the Florida Legislature, Online Sunshine. Willfully violating that requirement when a crash causes injury is a third-degree felony, while willfully leaving the scene of a crash that results in death is a first-degree felony. The statute also mandates that the state revoke the driver's license of anyone convicted under the section.
A Stretch of Road With a Troubled History
The area around UCF has seen repeated pedestrian crashes over the years. Between 2016 and 2021, there were 126 collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists on roads around campus, seven of them fatal, according to Orange County government data cited by WESH. Alexandria Clark, who had planned to attend UCF, was struck and killed while crossing University Boulevard in September 2017, and London Harrell was killed near University Boulevard in June 2019 by an impaired hit-and-run driver who was later convicted and imprisoned, per the same report.
Back in April 2014, 22-year-old French exchange student Geoffrey Pimpernelle was killed in a crash at the intersection of University Boulevard and Technological Avenue, according to the Orlando Sentinel. That crash came just weeks after UCF sophomore Brooke Dawkins, 19, died in a separate pedestrian crash the same year. No injuries or deaths from Friday's crash have been linked to a confirmed identity, and no arrest has been announced as the investigation continues.
