Man On Bike Struck, Killed In Plantation

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PLANTATION (CBSMiami) - A cyclist was struck and killed in Plantation early Monday morning.

Witnesses said the driver, who was heading south on University Drive, hit the 72-year old man who was trying to cross the road at Sunrise Boulevard.

That driver, "Fernando," said he was headed to work around 4 a.m. and simply didn't see the man on the bike.

"I had the green light," said Fernando. "When I saw him it was too late. I tried to do the right thing, I called 911."

"I feel bad for the victim and I feel bad for the guy that hit him. I really think that it was truly an accident, he was on his way to work," said Lauren Erlichman who arrived at the intersection moments after the crash and saw the visibly shaken driver. "He came out the car screening 'Oh my God, oh my God'."

People who live in the area say the man who died lives in the neighborhood and it was just part of his daily routine to ride to the 7-Eleven on the corner and get coffee.

"He comes in every morning around 7:30 a.m., locks his bike up, he's an elderly guy and then no sooner than he left this happens, I heard the crash," said the woman who works in the store.

Witnesses said a second vehicle, a white van, drove over the bike, swerved into the median, went into the gas station and kept going.

"If it was any of us, you're not going to want anyone to drive off. That could be somebody's grandfather and father, (it's) morals and common decency," said Sharleen Phidd.

Police have not released the name of the man who died.