A bill advancing through the Florida legislature aims to help law enforcement track down drivers involved in hit-and-run crashes by changing what auto shops and drivers are required to do.
The proposed law is named after 13-year-old Lilly Glaubach, who was hit while riding her bike home from Pine View School in Sarasota in 2022.
She died days later from her injuries.
The driver, David Chang, left the scene and didn’t stop, and then took the damaged car to an auto body shop in Tampa.
He's now serving a 15-year prison sentence.
In response, state lawmakers introduced the “ Lilly Glaubach Act ,” which would require auto repair shops to request a police crash report before performing any repairs over $2,500.
If the driver doesn't provide one, the shop must submit a written repair estimate within three days to a law enforcement-only database. Officers could then use the database to cross-check vehicles involved in recent crashes.
The bill also proposes a major change for Florida drivers: adding a permanent front license plate to all vehicles. Currently, Florida only requires rear plates.
Some drivers in Naples had mixed feelings about the idea.
"I think the police do enough. They do a good job. I think they don't need a plate in front and back," said Mateo Razzolini.
"It's like a double way to get more evidence. So we just need to understand why the government is taking that decision, or Collier County or the state is taking that decision. Also, in Florida, unfortunately, we have a lot of accidents. So maybe they try to avoid that as much as we can," said Helian Quichimbo.
If the bill passes, Florida drivers would need to have two license plates by January 2026. State officials haven’t yet said how much a second plate would cost.
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