MIAMI (WSVN) - Police said they have arrested a man in connection to a hit-and-run in Miami that left a man dead.
City of Miami Police arrested George Sternbergh after, they said, the 57-year-old struck a pedestrian who was attempting to cross the street.
According to investigators, officers were dispatched to Northwest 14th Avenue and 54th Street in reference to a traffic crash involving a pedestrian, just after 10 p.m. on Thursday.
“Pedestrian hit, Northwest 14th Avenue and 54th Street,” was heard over the Broadcastify police scanner.
First responders arrived to find a man lying in the street unconscious after, police said, Sternbergh hit him with his vehicle.
“They located an unresponsive adult male who had been suffering from multiple injuries,” said Miami Police Officer Kiara Delva.
Paramedics transported the victim to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
On Friday, investigators identified the victim as 42-year-old Jesus Illuminado Guerrero.
Detectives said Guerrero and his friend were walking down the street when they saw Sternbergh approaching with his car. Guerrero pushed his friend to the side in an attempt to save the friend’s life and got hit by the car.
“Two victims were crossing the street. The victim that was struck saved the life, actually, of the other person that he was walking with because he pushed him off to the side,” said Delva.
But, police said, those two were not the only ones to find themselves in the crosshairs during Sternberg’s wild car ride. They said he took off from the scene of the deadly crash.
“He did collide into another vehicle that had about two occupants in there. Instead of stopping there on scene to render aid and call 911, he continues to flee the area,” said Delva.
Police said they observed Sternbergh from a safe distance.
“The suspect] ends up on about Northwest 17th Avenue and 50th Street, where our Tactical Robbery Units were working a separate scene,” said Delva.
Surveillance video captured Sternbergh as he jumped out of his car and fled on foot.
Officers who were responding to a prior call spotted Sternbergh. They eventually caught up with him and apprehended him.
Two victims were inside the other vehicle involved in the second crash. They were both transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital with multiple injuries, including a dislocated shoulder and fractured collarbone. Fortunately, their injuries are not life-threatening.
Police said Sternbergh had his license revoked in 2013 and is described as a habitual traffic offender.
His criminal record shows that he was arrested for traffic-related incidents in 2021, 2022 and 2024. He has been convicted of driving with a suspended license four times.
Investigators added that the license plate on the vehicle the suspect was driving did not match.
Sternbergh was just released from state prison over the summer after serving a sentence of grand theft auto.
He faces multiple charges, including leaving the scene of a crash, two counts of reckless driving resulting in serious bodily injury, and fleeing and eluding police.
“It’s not a crime to get involved in a car crash. We’re all human, and it’s gonna happen. It’s a crime when you decide to willfully leave the scene of a crash without rendering aid or calling 911. That alone would have made all the difference in that victim still having his life today,” said Delva.
Guerrero’s aunt, who spoke with 7News on Friday, said she will miss him, and she considers him a hero for saving his friend.
Sternbergh is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade.
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