Man Injured on October 11 Florida Hit-and-Run Dies

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on October 25, 2016

A man seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident involving a moped and a stolen Honda Accord died today. Doctors did everything they could for Clarence “Duffy” Hadler, a 64-year-old Orlando resident, but ultimately the toll from breaking both arms and legs as well as suffering from swelling of the brain proved to be too much. The crash, which happened on October 11th, occurred near to where Colonial Drive and Forsythe Road intersect. Hadler was driving his moped down Colonial Drive at 4:40am when the Honda Accord came up behind him and threw Hadler from his small vehcile. The driver of the Accord then sped away, leaving the badly injured Hadler behind.

At some point in the days since that time and today, the Florida Highway Patrol was able to track down the missing vehicle. They found a grim scene. The accord had noticeable damage to its windshield and front end, and black and grey hair was stuck to the front bumper. Although the crime lab has not confirmed that the hair is a match to Hadler, the evidence is still damning. The owner of the vehicle, who has not been named, reported the car stolen ten hours after the incident occurred. The Florida Highway Patrol says that after doing a routine check on the car they found that it was not even registered to be on the road in the first place.

According to the Accord’s owner, the last time they can remember seeing the car was around 6:00 in the evening, on October 10th. The day before Hadler was struck by the same vehilce. As they mourn his sudden death, Hadler’s friends and loved ones will likely be asking variations on the same question, namely: who did this and when will they be brought to jusitce?

The statistics compiled by the Florida Highway Patrol indicate that these sorts of incidents are far from uncommon. Already this year Central Florida has seen accounts of 25 hit-and-run accidents (this number includes Hadler’s). A full 16 of these incidents occurred in Orange County. The spokesperson for the Florida Highway Patrol, Sgt. Kim Montes, says that this number is nearly double that of the same types of accidents investigated a year ago.

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.