A 53-year-old Miami man died Saturday night after a multi-car hit and run incident, according to police.
Jose Aviles-Vasquez was first struck by a motorist who stopped to help then run over by five to eight more cars that immediately fled the scene, according to Miami police spokesperson Roy Rutland.
Rutland said Aviles-Vasquez was initally hit while crossing NW 27th Ave near 115th Street around 9:15 p.m. After the driver stopped his car to administer aid, multiple vehicles traveling the same direction ran Aviles-Vasquez over before he could be moved from the road.
He was pronounced dead by first responders.
"The first driver said he probably would have lived," said Aviles-Vasquez' daughter-in-law. "He hit him, but he said not enough to kill him. He said he tried to get up from the hit, he only hit him with the side of the door. The other cars came flying and nobody stopped."
"Cars here come and go like one against the other," said his wife, Gloria Mendez, who arrived at the scene from her home just blocks away. "They just kept on going and they didn't do nothing about it."
The driver of the first vehicle was not injured and has not been charged with a crime, according to Rutland.
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He said investigators have not yet identified the type of vehicles that fled the scene, but evidence indicates each vehicle sustained front-end damage.
"I've been his wife for 32 years," Mendez said. " Imagine how I feel. The message I want to get out is please be careful when you're driving on an avenue."
"There's no street lights out here, it's pitch black," added granddaughter Julia Rivera. She was celebrating her 18th birthday when her grandfather was killed and asked that anyone with information contact authorities.
"You wouldn't want your grandpa to go this way, either," she said, "so please come forward."
Mendez echoed her granddaughter's plea for help.
"Please, the people that hurt my husband, if they have a conscience, if they have family, please come up and say 'Yeah, I hit him'," Mendez said.
"I swear to God, their conscience is not going to leave them in peace."
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
