JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 46-year-old Jacksonville man was killed in a hit-and-run crash early Monday morning on North Main Street near Zoo Parkway, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Witnesses said they called 911 after finding the man’s body face down on the side of the road near the railroad tracks about 1:30 a.m.
“I just hope that whoever did this just steps up. This is somebody’s son, father, brother, whatever,” one witness told News4Jax. “If you got a loved one missing, check in on your family. Just check in on your family.”
The Highway Patrol said later in the day on Monday that the vehicle believed to be involved in the deadly hit-and-run crash was located at a business on Trout River Boulevard near the Trout River Pier — about 2 miles away from where the man’s body was found — and was towed for processing.
Part of North Main Street was blocked overnight while the hit-and-run was investigated.
“Hit-and-run cases become hard to solve when you don’t have anything to go on such as an eyewitness account, maybe paint transfer from a vehicle, or any type of evidence left at the scene such as a headlight, a taillight, a bumper, anything that can possibly identify a vehicle, a type of vehicle,” said News4Jax crime and safety expert Ken Jefferson.
News4Jax’s data on deadly hit-and-run crashes in Duval County show the solve rate is low — 21% percent of cases over the past six years have resulted in arrests.
The rate has been even lower over the past few years. Since 2017, 37 people have been killed in hit-and-run crashes in Duval County, but, so far, only three people have been arrested in any of those cases.
Among the 12 victims of hit-and-run crashes in Duval County this year was 17-year-old Michael “Prince” Walton, who was killed in September while on his way to take the ACT.
“It’s been like a nightmare, I mean, a neverending nightmare,” said Michael Walton, his father. “The persons that are involved that cause the hurt, they know who they are.”