The case that reached the U.S. Senate
On October 4, 2025, a hit-and-run on Interstate 4 near DeBary, Florida, killed three people. A 911 caller described a maroon Dodge Durango and gave a partial plate.
Troopers found a Flock camera image of a black Dodge Durango about three miles from the crash, two minutes earlier. It belonged to Lindsey Isaacs of Palm Coast. Her car had no crash damage.
In April 2026, Isaacs was arrested on eight felony charges, including vehicular homicide. She was held without bond for 13 days. In May 2026, all charges were dropped. Another woman, who owned a maroon Durango, was then charged. She has pleaded not guilty.
Isaacs testified at a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing on Flock on September 23, 2026. She has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against two troopers.
Other cases exist. In June 2026, a Rhode Island woman sued after she was arrested for reckless driving and eluding police. Officers had matched Flock footage of a driver to her license photo. Those claims are still in court.
Why plate reader hits go wrong
- Misread characters. 8 and B, 0 and D, 1 and I. Dirt, glare, bike racks and tow hitches block parts of plates.
- Same model, different car. Popular cars look alike. Night images can make colors hard to tell apart.
- Stolen or fake plates. A plate on the wrong car points to the wrong owner.
- Near the scene is not at the scene. A camera miles away shows only that a car was on the road.
- Confirmation bias. Once investigators have a name, they may stop checking other leads.
- Owner is not driver. The plate identifies the registered owner, not who was driving.
Why this matters for your injury claim
If a camera identifies the driver who hit you, you may be able to claim against that driver’s insurance. But the insurer will test the identification. If the registered owner denies driving, or the car shows no matching damage, the claim can stall.
And if the identification is wrong, you lose time. Meanwhile, video that could have found the real driver is deleted. Flock’s default is now 7 days.
How to build an identification that holds up
- Match the damage. Photos of both vehicles. Paint transfer. Broken parts that fit.
- Match the parts. Debris part numbers that fit the suspect’s make, model and year.
- Build a timeline. Several camera images before and after the crash, not one. In a 2026 Michigan case, three camera images showed the suspect car’s mirror present before the crash and missing after it.
- Confirm with other video. Business and doorbell cameras near the scene.
- Identify the driver, not only the owner. Witnesses, phone records in serious cases, and the owner’s own statements.
- Keep your own UM claim alive. Until the driver is clearly identified, protect your uninsured motorist claim. In California, that means a police report within 24 hours, a sworn statement to your insurer within 30 days, and action within 2 years.
Step by step: how to get license plate camera footage after a hit-and-run. The wider debate: Flock cameras: do they actually save lives?
If you were wrongly accused
If police say your car was involved in a crash you had nothing to do with, speak with a criminal defense lawyer before you talk to investigators. TORKLAW represents injured people. We do not handle criminal defense or wrongful arrest cases.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Flock camera identify the wrong car?
Yes. Misread plates, similar cars and poor night images cause errors. In 2026 a Florida woman spent 13 days in jail after troopers relied on a Flock image of a car of the same model but a different color.
Is a license plate camera image enough to prove a hit-and-run?
Usually not by itself. It shows a car was at a place at a time. Damage, debris, witnesses and other video connect the car to the crash.
What happens to my claim if the camera identified the wrong driver?
The claim against that driver fails, and time is lost. Protect your uninsured motorist claim until the right driver is clearly identified.
General information, not legal advice about your case. Every case is different.
Sources
- U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Always Watching: Flock’s Nationwide AI Surveillance Network (Sept. 23, 2026).
- FlaglerLive, reporting on the Isaacs case (May 24, 2026).
- Fox News, Innocent woman says police use of Flock camera led to 13 days in jail.
- InvestigateTV via WHSV, A Flock camera hit sent troopers to her door. They had the wrong car. (Sept. 14, 2026).
- Flock Safety via GlobeNewswire, Kentwood hit-and-run release (July 28, 2026).
