SARASOTA, Fla. -- Data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shows hit-and-run crash numbers are going down, but experts say the numbers are still high and legislators could be doing more to track down potential hit-and-run suspects.
It's a cause the family of 13-year-old Lilly Glaubach has been fighting for since 2022, when she was killed in a hit-and-run crash.
Her last text to her mom, 'I'm on my way home... I love you.'
"It was sidewalks the whole way and one road, a two-way road, that she had to cross," said Lilly's mom, Sarah Alexander. "I texted her like, 'Are you home yet?' and I get a response that, 'This is Officer Franks. Please call this number immediately.'"
In front of other children walking from school, Lilly was hit by a sedan, and the driver took off.
Crime scene photos, given to Spectrum News by the 12th Circuit State Attorney's Office, show just how violent the crash was. Lilly was helicoptered from Sarasota to a St. Petersburg hospital, where she died 12 days later.
"When they were bringing her down, to where she eventually passed, both sides of the aisle were lined by every nurse, just paying respect to her and her family," said Paul Alexander, Lilly's stepfather.
In 2022, data uncovered by Spectrum News shows Lilly's was one of more than 107,000 hit-and-run cases across Florida.
Looking back as far as 2017, data shows Floridians see a six-figure average of hit-and-run crashes annually.
Sgt. Steve Gaskins with the Florida Highway Patrol says that in 2024 and this year, troopers are seeing a downward trend in hit and runs. But the numbers, Gaskins admits, are still high.
"People are taking it more seriously now because our state lawmakers, a few years back if you recall, they bumped up the penalties, especially for serious injury or fatality crashes where you're looking at a minimum mandatory of four years in prison," said Gaskins.
On top of that, state law requires your license to be revoked for 3 years, alongside a felony charge and a hefty fine. But some believe legislators could be doing more.
"We've had over 20,000 people that've been injured, close to 300 people killed last year, 100,000 hit-and-run accidents. But when we look at the number of people cited annually, it's a small number; we're talking 13,000," said 12th Circuit State Attorney Ed Brodsky.
State Attorney Brodsky is working to bring that number up. Lilly's case was handled by his office.
Without leads, Brodsky says police weren't sure they'd ever find the suspect. Until a Good Samaritan spotted this vehicle.
Brodsky says the suspect drove from Sarasota, three counties north, into Tampa to an autobody shop to get it fixed. He says that had the photo not been taken, the suspect may never have been found.
Using the photo taken by the Good Samaritan, FHP tracked down the suspect, David Chang, a neighbor of the family's.
Chang was found guilty of leaving the scene of a crash with death and obstructing an investigation and was sentenced to 20 years in a Florida prison.
"If he had just done the right thing, it would've been hard, but no one would've been searching. It would've been -- our pain would've been lessened tenfold," said Paul Alexander.
That's why Lilly's family and Brodsky's office worked with State Sen. Joe Gruters, R-District 22, to file the Lilly Glaubach Act last year.
"Law enforcement would be able to look at a database of vehicles that have gone to a body shop; let's say it's a black Mercedes with front windshield damage; it would give them an investigative lead to see if that could help them solve that case," said Brodsky.
The proposed legislation eventually died in committee during the last legislative session.
For now, Paul and Sarah keep fighting for Lilly and fighting for change.
Spectrum News reached out to Gruters to see if he, or any other legislator, planned on filing the Lilly Glaubach Act in the upcoming session. There has been no response thus far.