SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — Friday night was a busy one for Sarasota Police Department’s Traffic Unit. They were called out to two separate hit-and-run crashes within less than 30 minutes.
The crashes happened within a short stretch of Fruitville Road. The first took place near the Orange Avenue intersection downtown. Authorities said a 56-year-old man from Sarasota was hit by a vehicle there. He died from his injuries at Sarasota Memorial Hospital.
About 2.5 miles east near the Beneva Road intersection, police said a driver hit a 64-year-old man from Tennessee. He was found dead at the scene of the crash.
Neither of the drivers stopped to help the victims and instead fled the scene.
“It is insane and who doesn’t stop after they hit somebody? I mean, how do you have a clear conscience,” questioned Angela Breedon who works near the scene of the crash downtown.
Authorities are combing the area hoping to find surveillance footage of the vehicles involved in the crashes.
“We are speaking to nearby businesses as well near both intersections but again, we are asking the community if you were in the area, if you happen to know what happened, if you have information, if you have noticed a car that maybe has some damage that doesn’t seem right, we would rather hear from you than not. Any lead may lead to the end of this investigation,” said SPD public information officer Genevieve Judge.
“If you are seeing this and you were involved, and you know that you were involved, please come forward,” she added. “Right now we have two families that are grieving, we have a victim advocate that had to wake these families up at 1 o’clock in the morning and let them know that their loved ones had passed away. Come forward, it is the right thing to do, it is the humane thing to do.”
Anyone with information in either of these cases is asked to call the Sarasota Police Department Traffic Unit at 941-263-6822 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers by calling 941-366-TIPS or online at www.sarasotacrimestoppers.com