Research by the American Automobile Association (AAA) shows a rise in hit and run accidents with Texas making the top ten in the list of states with the most deaths.
AAA reports an average of 682,000 crashes occurred each year since 2006, with nearly 65 percent of people killed in hit and runs being pedestrians or bicyclists.
The agency indicates that there was a 30 percent increase in deadly crashes between 2015 and 2016 in Texas alone.
Weslaco police tells us they average between 200 to 250 hit and run crashes a year that include vehicles, property damage and even pedestrians or bicyclists.
“It’s no surprise, one of the main contributing factors might be the fact that Texas also is ranked high as far as DWI arrests. A lot of times these hit and run incidents occur because somebody is intoxicated,” said Eric Hernandez with the Weslaco Police Department.
Weslaco police say that a lot of hit and runs occur because drivers may not be insured or don’t have a valid license and that a lot of times drivers flee the scene to avoid prosecution.
In addition, police say that being a border town is also a factor because many international drivers have the advantage of crossing without making a report.
