MIAMI – Rafael Romero was at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s intensive care unit on Thursday night in Miami-Dade County, but his daughter confirmed that he passed away on Friday morning.
Romero, 63, was riding his motorcycle to work on Wednesday. A driver, who detectives identified as Gil Maldonado, struck him on the busy intersection of LeJeune Road and Northwest 11th Street. The tragedy was just south of State Road 836.
Maldonado, 50, of Pennsylvania, didn’t stop to help Romero and drove away at first, according to the Miami Police Department. Romero’s daughter, Susana Romero, said the driver left when her dad was injured on the road.
“The fact that he left in the first place is very heartbreaking to me because he lost a lot of blood ... They are continuing to do blood transfusions,” Susana Romero said Thursday before her father died.
Detectives said Maldonado eventually returned to the scene of the crash. But since he decided to leave in the first place, detectives are considering it a hit-and-run crash.
“It doesn’t make a difference whether he came back or not,” Susana Romero said.
Officers are asking witnesses to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305 471-8477.
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