19-Year-Old Pedestrian Killed in Sanford Hit-and-Run

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on September 9, 2016

The town of Sanford was startled by a tragedy on Wednesday night when a 19-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a car while she was trying to cross the street. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the pedestrian, a woman named Angel Raye Johnson, was walking along Sanford Avenue, close to where it intersects with Airport Boulevard, when she decided to cross the road. At this time, a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta was coming down Sanford Avenue as well. The driver of the Jetta, a 36-year-old by the name of Julio Colon, was seemingly unaware of the Johnson’s presence on the road, even though she was inside of the crosswalk.

At around 10:30pm, Johnson was struck by Colon’s Jetta. The Florida Highway Patrol and other emergency response vehicles were quick to arrive on the scene (it is unknown whether it was Colon or a bystander who dialed the emergency number), and they transported Johnson to Central Florida Regional Hospital. Unfortunately, the damages suffered by the young woman were too severe and she died shortly afterward. Colon was uninjured in the incident.

The Florida Highway Patrol has released a statement which concludes by saying that Colon is as of yet not facing any charges, although the accident is still very much under investigation. Before any one person can be declared as primarily culpable in an accident of this sort, a complete and thorough examination of the scene of the incident must be performed as well as interviews and testimonies from as many witnesses as possible. Because the incident resulted in a life being lost, a detailed look into the circumstances surrounding the event must occur before any judgments can form. This makes things challenging for the family and loved ones left behind, for whom answers are all too slow in emerging.

The Florida Highway Patrol will continue to release information regarding this accident as it becomes available, but there is no guarantee that their rigorous search into the reasons behind Johnson’s death will result in any sort of charges being brought against anyone. The nature of accidents of this sort is complex and requires extreme delicacy to unfold.

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19-year-old woman hit, killed in Sanford

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.