Not enough officers to solve hit and runs

HOUSTON Every day Houston police respond to dozens of hit and run accidents, from the northwest side to the Katy Freeway. Sometimes there are injuries. Some are deadly, and for every victim out there, a family waits for answers. But finding those answers is becoming more difficult.

The family of 12-year-old Traveon LeBlanc spent Christmas day without him. The fifth grader at Rick Schneider Middle School was killed on the Gulf Freeway last Thursday. Police are still searching for the driver who struck him.

LeBlanc's was one of thousands of hit and run accidents a year. Some are cars striking people. Most are cars striking other cars.

Witness Oscar Trevino described an accident scene, "Unfortunately that the people were reckless driving and they ran over a child."

In July, a nine-year-old boy was killed on his bike when the driver ran a stop sign. She was caught a few blocks away, but cases aren't always solved so quickly.

Officer Jerry Cormier has worked in the HPD hit and run unit for more than 20 years. Since 2003 staffing issues forced the division to be cut in half. Through November 30, hit and runs have actually declined the past five years.

2003: 20,486
2004: 19,489
2005: 18,309
2006: 16,938
2007: 16,784

"Well, of course, if we had more officers to spread these cases around, there would be less of a caseload on the officers that we have and we would be able to find a lot more people," said Officer Cormier. "I can't put a magic number on that."

But the number of unsolved cases has increased to more than 4,000 this year. Officer Cormier says that's when they must turn to the public more than ever for help.

He said, "One thing that would be a great help is if more citizens would get involved when they see an accident, write down the license plate number."

In 2003, the state legislature passed a new law extending the statue of limitations, giving police more time to find suspects in hit and run cases.