Tragic Hit-and-Run Crash Reported on Highway 52 East in Gilmer County, Georgia (GA)
GILMER COUNTY, GA- Fetchyournews.com writes that a hit-and-run crash took place in Gilmer County, Georgia, this week. The victim was identified as a male pedestrian.*
The authorities did not release a description of a vehicle or driver and are requesting that any witnesses or individuals with information about the car or driver contact the police.
Hit-and-run crashes are increasing throughout the nation. The AAA completed a study that showed an average annual increase in these incidents of 7.2 percent each year. The victims are most often pedestrians and cyclists.
In the study, researchers found that drivers involved in deadly hit-and-run collisions are often drunk at the time. The likelihood of these drivers being under the influence of alcohol are about two to nine times as high as they are for motorists who are involved in a crash but stay at the scene.
Researchers believe that part of the motivation to flee is simply a desire to avoid prosecution. Of course, with impaired motorists, the driver may be less inhibited than would a sober person, and therefore, he or she may be more inclined to flee the scene.
As rates of hit-and-runs have risen, states have attempted to reduce these crimes. Most of the preventative measures involve stricter and harsher penalties for committing a hit-and-run. However, those efforts have not been particularly effective. Now in some locations, police use alerts to the public to help recruit help in identifying these drivers as a way to increase the rate of arrests. It is not yet clear whether these programs will be able to cut down on the number of hit-and-runs.
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Sources:
https://fetchyournews.com/featured-stories/hit-and-run-shuts-down-highway-52-east/
https://aaafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/18-0058_Hit-and-Run-Brief_FINALv2.pdf