MIAMI (WSVN) - Police are searching for the driver who, they said, struck a bicyclist near Key Biscayne and took off, sending the victim to the hospital.
Carlos Trevisson Maza was out for an evening bike ride along Crandon Boulevard when he was hit by the driver who didn’t stop, Tuesday.
The man’s cousin, Aristides Maza Duerto, said he saw it all happen.
“I felt a car going by me, and then I saw my cousin just flying out of the lane in front of me,” he said.
Tuesday night, Maza Duerto was waiting outside Jackson Memorial Hospital to hear that his cousin was OK.
“He’s a very good guy, a very good guy. I really hope he comes out of this one,” he said.
Wednesday night, 7News cameras captured loved ones gathered outside the hospital.
Family members have flown in from Europe and Venezuela to be by Trevisson Maza’s side.
“My cousin Carlos, he’s doing the same. There is not much change,” said Maza Duerto.
However, he remains hopeful his cousin, who is listed in critical but stable condition, will get better.
“He has a couple of injuries on his head. Even though he was wearing a helmet, he has a big cut on his head, from the bottom of his [forehead] to the top,” said Maza Duerto.
Rescue crews rushed Trevisson Maza, 48, to the hospital; he was bleeding from his head.
As the victim was being wheeled into the hospital, the bike helmet was still seen with him.
The cousins are avid bicyclists who ride the same trail near Key Biscayne four times a week.
“We were on the bicycle lane. We were not outside the bicycle lane or anything like that,” said Maza Duerto.
Duerto said the driver’s black SUV almost hit him before slamming into his cousin.
“He did two flips in the air and hit the ground on the right side of the road,” said Maza Duerto. “He tried to move. I asked him not to move. I asked him to stay down. He was bleeding.”
Detectives said the driver kept going and changed course after the collision.
“I think the guy turned around at Calusa Park and went back out of the island,” said Maza Duerto.
The pair were traveling in an area known for incidents like the one Trevisson Maza was in.
In the summer of 2022, the Florida Department of Transportation conducted a traffic study to find ways of making the Rickenbacker Causeway and Crandon Boulevard safer.
As a result of FDOT’s research, officials lowered the speed limit to 40 MPH and added traffic delineators to prevent vehicles from driving into bike lanes.
Eder Mendez said he is aware of the risks bicyclists face in this area.
“The cars go very fast,” he said. “The limit here is 40 or 35 miles an hour, and they’re always going 50 and passing the cyclists very close.”
“It scares me, because as a cyclist who does it three times a week and being extra careful, I’m also aware that it could happen to me,” said cyclist Guillaume Raberin.
Raberin said he tries to be as safe as possible, and he hopes everyone else will, too.
“Anybody who drives — car, trucks or whatever you do when you’re on the road driving — be careful of others, whether it’s a cyclist, a runner or even another car,” he said.
It remains unclear what led to the crash.
“Fleeing the scene of an accident is not what I would recommend, at all,” said Maza Duerto. “He did not stop, he did not slow down, he just kept going.”
As the investigation continues, Maza Duerto said he won’t forget one detail.
“That black SUV has a big dent on the right side of the car,” he said.
If you have any information on this hit-and-run or the driver’s whereabouts, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.