Mother of teen killed in hit-and-run crash pleads for answers

TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. - Police in Tarpon Springs are ramping up their search to find a hit-and-run driver who killed a teenager last month.

According to the Tarpon Springs Police Department, someone hit and killed Mia Schoen, 17, around 5 a.m. on March 28 while she was walking along US 19 and took off.

Police say the hit-and-run driver was in a 2014-2017 Silver Toyota Tundra pick-up truck.

Police are searching for a truck like this one they believe was involved in a fatal hit-and-run. Image is courtesy of the Tarpon Springs Police Department. 

"This truck, when it hit my daughter, she broke the truck, that’s how we know what kind of truck it is because the truck left the scene with parts on the road," shared Karine Burkhardt, Mia’s mother.

Mia was just shy of her 18th birthday, and her mother says she wanted to make a career working with animals.

RELATED: Pinellas investigators search for two drivers involved in separate fatal hit-and-run crashes

Police, along with Mia Schoen's mother, are trying to find the hit-and-run driver who killed her. Image is courtesy of Karine Burkhardt, Mia’s mother.

"Her biggest dream was to go to Costa Rica and open a wildlife refuge center there," Burkhardt said. "She was really a loving and caring person and yeah, big dreams but they got crushed by a truck."

Deadly hit-and-run crashes happen all too often across Florida. Now, Burkhardt says it’s her mission to prevent more families from losing loved ones to these crashes.

Police at the scene of a fatal hit-and-run that killed a 17-year-old girl. 

"I heard some crazy stats about how many hit-and-runs in Florida so far this year, but we need to make sure that drivers know that it does not go unpunished, so let’s make an example of that person so they stop. That’s what I’m fighting for because I know it’s not going to bring my daughter back," explained Burkhart.

Police say any small detail could be helpful in figuring out who’s responsible.

Mia Schoen, 17, was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Tarpon Springs. Image is courtesy of Karine Burkhardt, Mia’s mother.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Tarpon Springs Police or Crime Stoppers.