JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was fatally injured Wednesday morning when he was struck by a vehicle on Jacksonville’s Westside, police said. The driver did not stop.
The pedestrian was hit around 7 a.m. on Crystal Springs Road, near the Chandler Oaks neighborhood, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
He was taken to a hospital, where he died. Police did release any other information about the victim.
Police said the man appeared to be alone when he was hit and that he was found immediately on the side of the road, but they did not have any description of the vehicle that hit him.
It’s unclear if the man was jogging or why he was out on the street. Crystal Springs Elementary is less than half a mile away, but the crash happened before school hours.
Neighbors told News4Jax the road is very busy and, at times, dangerous. Stephanie Lanning, who lives up the street from a crash site, said it’s been an issue since the city of Jacksonville widened Crystal Springs Road.
“They will drag race down this road!" Lanning said. “They will pass you in the turning lane. They don’t care. They don’t follow the speed limit, heck, they don’t even follow the school speed limit when school lets out.”
Lanning and her mother, Ruth, said there are a lot of pedestrians who use the bike lane and sidewalks.
“We have joggers, runners, walkers. There’s one man that walks his German Shepherds twice a day," Stephanie Lanning said.
Ruth Lanning said she doesn’t walk or jog along the road anymore because it’s too dangerous.
Stephanie Lanning had a message for the driver who left the scene.
“Turn yourself in. It’ll go a lot easier for you if you turn yourself in," she said. "Be a good person, please we need more good people. Prove that you’re a good person and turn yourself in.”
RELATED: Car sought by police in hit-and-run crash that killed woman on Lane Avenue
According to News4Jax records, in Duval County this year, there have been seven deadly hit and runs with no arrests made. In the last five years, there have been 55 deadly hit and runs with arrests made in 13 cases -- that’s a 23% solve rate.
Anyone with information on the crash can contact JSO at 904-630-0500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.