One man was killed early Friday morning after a fatal hit and run crash while riding his bicycle in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade Police officers arrived at the scene near the Southwest 10900 block of Sunset Drive after the crash, which took place just before 2 a.m.
Homicide detectives say a newer model Mercedes-Benz was traveling westbound on Sunset Drive when it collided with the bicyclist and fled the scene.
The victim, a white male in his mid-30s, died at the scene. Officials have not released his name at this time, but people who knew the victim say he was heading home from work.
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“He was a good working, loved by everyone, funny guy," said Rick Campana. "Young always working, always coming to work. He rode his bike to work, he lived around the corner from here."
The victim worked in the kitchen at a Don Burrito Restaurant. Friday, they kept their doors closed after losing one of their employees to this tragic incident.
According to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in 2019 there were 31 bike fatalities in South Florida. In 2020, there were 16. So far this year there have been 11.
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"We unfortunately don’t have a lot of good bike lanes or protected bike lanes in South Florida," said Eli Stiers, an attorney and bike advocate. "So what you have is a situation with a lot of people riding their bikes for recreation or transportation and they're mixed in with infrastructure that really caters to the cars, trucks and other vehicles, who don’t always recognize the rights of cyclists to be on the road with them."
Anyone with information on the crash or the driver involved is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
