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Police Searching For Fatal Hit And Run Driver

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The search is on for the driver who left without helping an elderly man who died after being hit in Miami Saturday morning.

Near the intersection of NW 7th Street near NW 27th Avenue, police found a turned over walker and a pair of shoes around 6 a.m. The victim's body was just a few feet away.

Miami police say the victim is an elderly, homeless man who was known in the area.

"He comes over here every day," said witness Omar Siles. "[He would] buy bread every day, coffee. We saw him every day. I was driving. I had my vehicle and my son, and I saw the old man crossing. I saw the car just hit him and pick him up. He didn't even stop."

CLICK HERE to watch MaryAnn Martinez's report

The elderly man later died at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust released a statement, calling the hit and run "inexcusable."

"The driver who hit and killed one of our community's homeless this morning took away the only thing he could really call his own - his life," said Trust chairman Ronald L. Book. "Every life has value, especially the 'least and lost.'"

Siles actually followed the driver, but could only get a partial license plate.

"A Mazda, either pick up or SUV, possibly either gray or silver struck the man and fled the scene," said Miami Police Officer Kenia Fallat.

Police say the vehicle has "extensive front-end damage," and describe the driver as a white man in his 50s wearing glasses.

Police say if the man had only stayed at the scene, he probably would not have been charged. The victim's identity is not being released at this time.

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