JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man is dead after his motorcycle collided with a truck at Arlington Road and Atlantic Boulevard, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Police said the young man was traveling west on Atlantic Boulevard on his Honda motorcycle just before 2 a.m. when a white GMC pickup truck headed east on Atlantic Boulevard tried to turn north onto Arlington Road, cutting him off. The motorcyclist crashed into the truck’s front end.
Police said the driver of the truck paused, then sped away from the scene.
The motorcyclist died at the scene. He was in his early 20s.
Police are looking for the driver of a white GMC pickup truck with tinted windows and parts of the grille missing. It was last seen driving north on Arlington Road. Officers are looking at nearby surveillance videos for evidence.
News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson said leaving the scene only makes things worse.
“No matter what situation it is, even if you’ve been impaired by drinking and driving, you’ve got a suspended driver’s license or even if you have a warrant, what you’re doing is you’re amplifying your charges when you leave,” Jefferson said.
This is the 39th motorcyclist killed in Jacksonville in 2021. It is also the 159th traffic death in Jacksonville this year.
According to our News4Jax records, Saturday morning’s crash marks the 10th deadly hit and run in Jacksonville so far this year. No arrests have been made in those cases.
Our records also show over the last seven years, when it comes to deadly hit and runs, arrests have been made in only 20% of the cases.
JSO says these situations are frustrating because they are preventable.
“We can be so much better as a community,” said JSO Lt. Rich Buoye. “It’s always with someone who is not paying attention, someone is impaired, or someone is in a hurry. If we just take the time, we can really put a dent in [these statistics], stop and help some people.”
If you have any information about Saturday’s accident, you are asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500.