PHOENIX — A new report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows deadly hit-and-run crashes are reaching record highs across the country. In Arizona, more than 7.5% of all crashes between 2017 and 2023 involved a driver who left the scene. For one Valley family, the statistics are personal.
Police said Leandro Antonio, 43, was hit and killed by a driver while he crossed Dunlap Avenue near 16th Avenue in late January 2025. More than a year later, his family still has no answers.
His sister, Sara Antonio, described him as the heart of their large family.
"He was just outgoing, you know, loved his family," Sara Antonio said. "We have a big family. Our family gatherings are not the same because he was like the life of the party."
Antonio said little evidence has surfaced in the case.
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"There really was not too much detail that the police or the investigators could find other than it was a car and just the fender, the front bumper was torn off," Sara Antonio said. "Whoever hit my brother is out there still."
Her family is not alone. Each year, the Arizona Department of Transportation records thousands of injuries and dozens of deaths involving hit-and-run cases across the state.
Former law enforcement officer Mike Butler, who now works in executive security, said hit-and-run crashes are especially difficult and lengthy to investigate.
"It's very difficult for law enforcement to zero in who was driving the vehicle at that specific time," Butler said.
He added that witnesses often make or break a case that lacks surveillance or other evidence.
"They may think it's the littlest piece of information could crack the investigation wide open and lead down the path where six months later, now we have an arrest," Butler said.
ABC15 reached back out to Phoenix PD for an update on Antonio’s case. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Phoenix Police Department or call Silent Witness.
The Antonio family is holding onto hope that someone will speak up.
"At least come forward, you know, and just maybe take accountability, and if it was an accident, it was an accident. But at least, you know, give us some closure," Sara Antonio said.
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