FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A man who was struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Fort Lauderdale has died.
Fort Lauderdale police said James Ortibez, 39, died Sunday morning, one day after the hit-and-run crash.
Detective Tracy Figone said Ortibez was riding his bicycle about 1:30 a.m. Saturday when a car struck him, knocking him off the bike and into the street. She said the driver of the car then took off without stopping to help.
Figone said Ortibez was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead Sunday.
Police continue to search for the car, believed to be a gold four-door Volkswagen CC, and driver involved in the crash.
Local 10 News reporter Michael Seiden spoke to Ortibez's mother, who had this message for the driver.
"You took my son's life, but you know what? He was a donor ... and he's going to help a lot of people," Mary Ortibez said Monday. "You turn yourself in, because you can't hide. We're coming."
Mary Ortibez and the victim's 21-year-old son were among family members who flew to South Florida from Colorado to be by his side.
They said Ortibez, who grew up in Colorado, was a mechanic and also did home repairs.
"I just know that he was on his way home to get some clothes to go back to where he was at to go to work the next day," Mary Ortibez said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
Jan. 21: Walter Reyes was killed and Henry Hernandez was injured in a hit-and-run crash while they were riding their bicycles on the Rickenbacker Causeway.Jan. 21: University of Maryland student Alejandro Alvarez was arrested later that day. Miami-Dade police said Alvarez was out friends at a club in Miami Beach and was driving home when he struck the bicyclists. Police said Alvarez initially drove home and tried to make it look as though the car had been burglarized, but he eventually returned to the scene.Jan. 28: Richard Parsons, 22, was injured in a hit-and-run crash while he was walking to a Metrorail station in northwest Miami-Dade County.Feb. 7: Martin O'Connor, a tourist from Ireland, was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in North Lauderdale. Broward Sheriff's Office detectives said Richard Jennings, who was driving his girlfriend's BMW, fled the scene but was arrested at his Hollywood home later that day.Feb. 10: A silver Honda CR-V struck a woman as she was crossing Northwest Second Court in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood.Feb. 12: Miguel Morales Ixmata was crossing Bird Road in southwest Miami-Dade County when he was struck by a car and then run over by another vehicle, both of which kept going.Feb. 13: An off-duty Miami police sergeant was injured in a hit-and-run crash while riding his motorcycle.Feb. 14: The hit-and-run driver "left me there to die," Sgt. Marvin Sanders, a 25-year veteran, said from his hospital bed.Feb. 16: Jose Rubio-Perez was riding his bicycle in southwest Miami-Dade County when he was struck by a 2010-15 dark metallic gray Dodge Ram pickup truck.Feb. 22: Takesha Hayes was in a motorized wheelchair when she was struck and killed in Miami.March 1: A man was struck by a 2014 Chevrolet Impala while riding his bicycle in Dania Beach.March 3: Two days later, Carlos Miguel Lee was arrested in the death of Maurice White.March 26: A bicyclist was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on Bird Road near Granada Boulevard in Coral Gables.March 27: Police located the damaged Nissan Altima that struck the Coral Gables bicyclist. The car was hidden behind a fence at a southwest Miami-Dade County home.March 29: Jason Swanson was struck and killed by a pickup truck while riding his motorcycle in Hollywood.April 11: Gustavo Sanchez was arrested after police said he struck a woman with his car in Miami while intoxicated.April 18: Police said Ernesto Izquierdo Gonzalez left the scene of a Hialeah crash that killed Amelia Caridad Diaz, 66. Police said witnesses followed him to a nearby store, where he was arrested.April 23: Moshe Moll was riding his motorcycle near Southwest 44th Street and Southwest 112th Avenue when he was struck by a Chevrolet Tahoe.April 24: Police arrested Juan Carlos Redero in connection with the March 26 hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist.April 25: A man was struck and killed as he crossed Northwest 32nd Avenue near Northwest 46th Street. Witnesses said the car was speeding and revved its engine seconds before impact.April 26: Eladio Garcia was identified as the driver of a Chevrolet Tahoe that struck Moshe Moll as he was riding his motorcycle.May 9: Vietnam veteran Richard James Flaherty, 70, is found dead after a hit-and-run crash in Aventura.June 20:Alfredo Rodriguez, 48, was fatally struck by a speeding SUV on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach shortly after he had gotten off work.Aug. 29: James Ortibez, 39, was struck by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle in Fort Lauderdale. He was pronounced dead the next day.Sept. 3: A 9-year-old boy was struck by a car after he got off his bicycle to look at a sign in Coral Gables. The driver of the car didn't stop. The boy was taken to Miami Children's Hospital in serious condition.Sept. 5: Jean Carlos Hernandez-Trujuillo was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his scooter in Miami.Sept. 10: Dennis Cerrato was arrested in connection with the Sept. 3 hit-and-run crash that sent Sebastian Ochoa, 8, to a hospital.Oct. 13: A silver BMW was speeding along Collins Avenue when it struck a man near 11th Street. The driver of the car fled the scene.Oct. 16: A pedestrian is struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash on Quail Roost Drive.Oct. 26: A 15-year-old girl is struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash while trying to cross at the intersection of Northwest 11th Street and Northwest 15th Avenue.Dec. 4: Amanda Crews was struck by a 2005 Chevrolet Outlander while trying to cross a Pompano Beach intersection. Jerry Mayo was arrested the next day.Dec. 8: Police say a driver and passenger in a rental car ran away after a crash that injured a man in northwest Miami-Dade County.Dec. 10: Silvestre Diaz is arrested in connection with the hit-and-run crash that injured singer Michael Rodriguez.Dec. 19: A man was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Northwest 62nd Street near Northwest 19th Avenue in Miami-Dade County.Dec. 22: Junette Escarment was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in North Miami.
Jan. 21: Walter Reyes was killed and Henry Hernandez was injured in a hit-and-run crash while they were riding their bicycles on the Rickenbacker Causeway.
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