MIAMI (WSVN) - Surveillance video captured a fatal hit-and-run in Miami, and the victim’s mother is pleading for the driver involved to turn themselves in to authorities.
Video released on Thursday captured the moment of impact along Northwest Seventh Avenue and 36th Street. The crash took place on Feb. 13 just after 2 a.m., killing Lester Gomez.
“Every day of my life, I’m going to miss him,” Elizabeth Gomez, his mother, said. “The whole family is broken right now. A great human being, a great person, a great friend.”
According to police, the driver of an Infiniti was speeding northbound on Seventh Avenue and slammed into a Chevrolet Impala. The Impala then crashed into another vehicle.
“The vehicle was going at an incredible high rate of speed — so much that it splits the car he slams into right on impact,” City of Miami Police spokesperson Kenia Fallat said. “Detectives are saying the speeds are topping well over 100 mph.”
Gomez, who was driving the Impala, died at the scene. A passenger inside the Impala was transported to the hospital in unknown condition.
The driver who caused the crash fled the scene, but he returned with accomplices to grab items from the Infiniti. They could be seen on the video holding flashlights, as they searched through the car.
The victim’s mother said she was driving back to Miami from Lakeland when she received the heartbreaking call from her daughter.
“There’s days that I don’t sleep,” Gomez said. “When I got to the hospital, she told me, ‘Mom, Lester is no longer with us.’ My son was only 38 years old. He had a whole life to live.”
More than six months after the fatal crash, the family hopes police will catch the person who killed their son.
“You have to pay for that,” Armando Gomez, Lester’s father, said. “You have to pay.”
“The only thing I’m asking for the person that did this to us to come forward,” Gomez said. “If someone knows something, please say something. Say something, so that person won’t hurt another family again.”
If you have any information on this fatal hit-and-run, 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.
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