FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have made an arrest in a fatal hit and run that occurred on the Southeast 17th Street causeway bridge in Fort Lauderdale and left a bicyclist dead and led to the hours-long closure of all eastbound lanes.
Fort Lauderdale Police and Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the crash along the 2000 block of Southeast 17th Street, just after 6:40 a.m. on Thursday.
Investigators said the woman involved was riding her bicycle eastbound when she was struck by a driver who fled the scene.
Witnesses told police the victim was hit by a dark colored vehicle.
Paramedics transported the bicyclist as a trauma alert to Broward Health Medical Center, where she succumbed to her injuries. She has been identified as 68-year-old Shelley Lewis.
Back at the scene, officers shut down the eastbound portion of the bridge. Eastbound traffic was rerouted for much of the morning drive as detectives collected evidence. The causeway was later reopened to traffic.
On Thursday afternoon, authorities say they identified the suspected driver as 22-year-old Don Janea Smith.
Smith faces charges for leaving the scene of an accident involving death. More charges may be added pending the outcome of the investigation.
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