FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are searching for a pickup truck driver who, they said, struck and killed an elderly man on a busy Fort Lauderdale road and fled the scene, leaving his loved ones devastated and looking for answers.
Fort Lauderdale Police units responded to reports of a hit-and-run near the 400 block of West Sunrise Boulevard at around 8 p.m. on Monday.
First responders pronounced the pedestrian who was struck dead at the scene. He was later identified as 70-year-old Johnnie Lee Davis of Fort Lauderdale.
Now his grieving family, not only the police, are searching for answers.
“He was a loving, caring guy. Everyone loved him. He was full of life. He loved to dance. He loved to play cards,” Davis’ daughter, Jazzlynn Simmons, said.
Davis lost his life on the street he crossed countless times to visit friends and stop by the store at Sunrise and Northwest Fifth Avenue.
“Every night. He’s a regular customer,” the store’s owner, Mustofa Khan, said.
Investigators said the suspected motorist took off without stopping to help the victim.
Simmons said a witness told her Davis had hit his head in the incident.
“He said he heard my father scream when he was struck, ‘Ow’ and boom! That was it,” said Simmons.
Khan believes Davis was coming to the store to pick up a drink, as he did every night.
“It’s very sad, very sad. Hard to see that, and I don’t understand that, and I came back, and I called 911,” said Khan.
Davis’ friend Vincent Powell said the news of his death left him heartbroken.
“He always motivated me and lifted my spirits,” said Powell. “I moved into the shelters here, and I was working, and he just, you know, he just made sure I went to work; he always had uplifting things to say for me.”
Simmons said it was simple actions like that which perfectly described the kind of person her father was in life.
7News cameras captured officers as they searched for clues along the westbound lanes of the roadway.
Westbound traffic along West Sunrise Boulevard was diverted northbound onto North Andrews Avenue while police investigated.
Tuesday morning, Simmons went to the store her father frequented, looking for information as to who would leave him to die in the street.
“That’s the awful thing. It’s a hard pill to swallow, and as I said earlier, I just want, you know, justice for my father,” Simmons said.
The photo 7News obtained of Davis shows him wearing a shirt with a photograph of Simmons’ mother, who passed away exactly two months ago.
The family says a friend was driving by the area and alerted the victim’s 17-year-old granddaughter. The young girl arrived at the scene before first responders and saw the deceased body of her grandfather.
Detectives said they are looking for a white pickup truck of unknown make and model.
If you have any information on this hit-and-run or the driver’s whereabouts, call FLPD Traffic Homicide Investigator Manny Garcia at 954 828-5726 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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