PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) - Police are investigating a collision after a cyclist was struck and killed in Plantation, early Monday morning.
Plantation Fire responded to the scene, along West Sunrise Boulevard and North University Drive, after calls of a vehicle hitting a bicyclist.
According to officials, the cyclist, identified as 72-year-old Larry Cumbie, was killed on impact. However, the driver of the vehicle remained on scene and is cooperating with police.
Police said Cumbie was riding east on Sunrise when he was hit by a black Mazda heading south on University Drive, just before 5:30 a.m. “He appears from nowhere, out of the darkness,” said the driver. “When I saw him, it was too late.”
7News spoke with the shaken-up driver, who said it was dark out and he did not see the cyclist until the moment of impact. “And he appears and I have the green light so that’s — it was an accident. I just tried to do the right thing, you know?” the driver said. “Call 911, emergency vehicles, everything. I don’t know why. Why? Why was he in the middle of the street?”
Witness Lauren Elrichman described the scene. “He was just frightened. Came out of the car screaming, like, ‘Oh, my God. Oh, my God,'” she said. “It was dark. It was just an accident.”
Neighbors said Cumbie had been riding his bicycle to work, eastbound on Sunrise, when he was hit. “Pretty devastating,” said neighbor Rick Kelley. “It hit me a couple of hours later.”
Kelley said Cumbie lived alone and worked as a caregiver for an elderly man. His bicycle was his only mode of transportation. “He was private, quiet, very friendly to me, I always did a lot of work on his home if he needed repairs or anything of that nature,” Kelley said.
Kelley left flowers outside Cumbie’s house. “I just feel like he can see them from wherever he is at this time,” he said, “and know we care about him.”
Cumbie’s body, along with his mangled bicycle, have since been removed from the scene.
Police said it appears that the driver will not face charges. However, the investigation is still ongoing.
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