MIAMI (WSVN) - The man accused of fatally striking a teenage girl on the 79th Street Causeway in Miami and fleeing the scene made his first appearance in court.
Sixty-year-old Jose Fimia stood and listened to his charges in bond court, Saturday afternoon.
“Count one, you’re charged with failing to stop after vehicular homicide, a first-degree felony,” said Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Pedro Echarte Jr. “As to count one, I’m setting your bond at $150,000.”
Police said Fimia kept driving after he hit Diani Gomez Sanchez while she was jogging along the causeway last weekend.
Her family, who reported her missing when she never came home, went looking for her and found her body along the road, Sunday.
When police responded, their investigation found that she was hit by car.
Days later, investigators located a damaged silver sedan less than a mile from where her body was found.
7News cameras captured the suspect sitting nearby.
The police report states, “There were several strands of treated hair (blue hair dye) that were embedded in the windshield and on the passenger side mirror housing that are consistent with the victim’s hair color.”
Police later linked Fimia to the crime and took him into custody.
He faces four charges, including vehicular homicide and driving without a license.
Fimia is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade. As of late Saturday night, he has not posted bond.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.