MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol kicked off a new campaign Friday in an effort to crack down on all the hit-and run-crashes that occur in South Florida.
Miami-Dade County led the state in the number of hit-and-run crashes in 2016.
More than 19,000 hit-and runs were reported in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties combined. Four of those crashes were deadly, and the people responsible for them have not yet been caught.
Troopers are reminding drivers to "stay at the scene in 2017."
The campaign is an effort to bring the number of crashes down and bring awareness to Hit-and-Run Awareness Month.
It is illegal to leave the scene of a crash, especially one where people are injured or killed. It can cost not only your license, but also send you to prison.
Local 10 News also heard on Friday from a man whose cousin was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Miami Gardens back in 2014.
He's now a member of a non-profit organization to raise awareness to the growing issue, while his own loved one's case remains unsolved.
"These are souls that continue to compound where there is no closure, so we must take that into account," Kevin L. Samuel said.
The nonprofit, Just An Accident Stop-Hit and Runs, was founded by the victim's sister, Dr. Yolanda Green-Samuel. Eugene Green was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Sept. 13, 2011.
"Being a human being, how can you be involved in an accident and kill someone, or injure someone to the point where their lives are changed and ruined forever, and leave the scene?" FHP Trooper Joe Sanchez said. "I mean, how can you sleep at night?"
Troopers said they'll be assigning more personnel to those unsolved cases in hopes of bringing justice and closure to the victims' families.
They're also asking anyone with information about any unsolved cases to come forward.