Police Get Leads In Deadly Multi-Car Hit & Run
MIAMI-DADE (CBS4) – Miami-Dade Police investigators have a couple of leads on two vehicles suspected of being involved in a horrific hit and run that left at 53-year-old man dead in the street.
According to police, Jose Aviles-Vasquez was struck first by a red Honda Accord driven by 24-year-old Sergio Soriano as he tried to cross NW 27th Avenue near 115th Street on Saturday night around 9:15 p.m.
Soriano immediately stopped his car and tried to help Aviles-Vasquez on the darkened roadway.
Soriano told CBS4's Natalia Zea he tried to stop oncoming traffic while he was on the phone with 911 dispatchers.
However, authorities say, five to eight other vehicles traveling in the same southbound direction then struck Aviles-Vasquez again. He died on the scene.
Nearby restaurant owner Darryl Johnson tried to help.
"When I ran up on him while he was laying on the ground to see if he was okay, a pickup truck came by and ran over his face," said Johnson. "While I was there, three cars alone hit him."
Investigators say none of the other cars stopped after they ran over Aviles-Vasquez.
Police said Monday witnesses have provided details on two possible suspect vehicles. Those vehicles include an older model, maroon Honda and a black unknown type of vehicle.
Aviles-Vasquez's common-law wife Gloria Mandez begged for those drivers to come forward and turn themselves in.
"How could other people do that to another human being and just like nothing happened," cried Mandez.
Aviles-Vasquez was a grandfather, and a great-grandfather to seven. His granddaughter, Julia Rivera cried over losing him on her birthday.
"You wouldn't want your grandpa to go like this either so if you did this please come forward," said an emotional Rivera.
Police confirm lighting was a problem at the time of the accident. A business owner nearby said the street lights have been out for more than two months.
Miami Dade College's North Campus is on that same street. Freshman, Brandon Blackman says he hasn't seen any working lights on this part of 27th avenue since his night classes started here last month.
"You can't really see so you're driving on judgment basically," he told Zea.
Miami-Dade Public Works says the lights were out on 12 blocks of 27th Avenue because the sensors that switch them on at night weren't working. They say they only learned of the issue Thursday when someone complained.
A maintenance company fixed the lights three days later. The day after Aviles was killed.
Police are asking for help from witnesses and still need to identify the makes and models of all of the vehicles that struck Aviles-Vasquez. Investigators also say evidence indicates each vehicle sustained front-end damage.
Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
