Troopers Need Help Finding Hit-And-Run Driver

The Florida Highway Patrol is asking for a little help from West Pasco residents to find a motorist it says is wanted in connection with a June 6 accident on State Road 52 that left two teenagers injured.

The hit-and-run driver was operating an older Ford pickup truck that’s believed to be a F150 or F250 model, wrote Sgt. Steve Gaskins in an email to the media. That truck is dark in color and is now missing an “after-market front grill, fog lamp assemblies and the right turn signal assembly,” Gaskins said.

The crash in question took place June 6 around 10:40 p.m. on State Road 52 near Choctaw Trail. Gaskins said conditions that night were rainy. The pickup was heading east on State Road 52 in the turn lane for Choctaw Trail. A Ford Ranger driven by Amber Raye McGivern, 18, of Hudson was headed westbound on State Road 52. The pickup turned directly in front of McGivern, causing a collision. That driver then kept on going north on Choctaw Trail, Gaskins said.

McGivern and her passenger, James Hemphill, 18, were both injured.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Trooper Mike Hollis at 813-631-4020.