MIAMI – A 35-year-old man was arrested Monday following a fatal hit-and-run crash that left a bicyclist dead.
George Luis Amparo faces a charge of leaving the scene of a crash resulting in a death.
The incident occurred around 6:45 a.m. in the area of Northwest 12th Avenue and 51st Street in Miami.
City of Miami police spokesman Mike Vega said the bicyclist, identified by relatives as Mark James, 44, was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he died.
Surveillance video shows the moments after James was hit.
His family told Local 10 News they are beyond devastated for the loss and that James was left on the side of the road.
Police picked up car parts which served as important clues, leading investigators on the hunt for a 2014 or 2016 black Nissan Rouge that left the scene.
Sky 10 was above the scene just before 8:30 a.m. as police tape blocked off the roadway and removed the bike from the area, which had one of its wheels missing.
According to his arrest report, Amparo went home after the incident and fell asleep after waking up his mother and telling her that he had gotten into a car accident.
Police said his mother, who is the registered owner of the vehicle, waited until daylight to look at the damage and observed a cracked windshield, and the front right-end heavily damaged.
The mother also saw the Local 10 News report on the hit-and-run and realized that her son would have been driving in the area where the crash occurred around the same time, authorities said.
According to the report, the mother woke up Amparo to ask whether he had struck anyone with her car. His statement to her was redacted from the arrest report, however police said Amparo’s mother and aunt later accompanied him to the police station to turn himself in.
During a Tuesday morning hearing, Amparo’s defense attorney asked a Miami-Dade County judge to place Amparo on house arrest as he has had no prior arrests.
The judge declined, setting bond at $10,000.
If he posts bail, Amparo will not be permitted to drive.