The driver of a silver- or champagne-colored car sped off after veering off a Northeast Philadelphia road overnight before mowing down a man riding his bike.
The force of the wreck along Frankford Avenue near Comly Street in the Mayfair neighborhood around 12:45 a.m. Friday tore the 43-year-old cyclist’s mountain bike in half and launched him about 50 feet up the road.
"He was unconscious, laying on the side of the road," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small. "He was suffering from severe trauma from his head and his upper body. Medics pronounced him dead on the scene."
After striking the biker, the driver kept going north on Frankford Avenue, said Small.
The driver ignored safety measures the biker was taking.
"(The bike) had a least three lights that are still blinking even after the auto accident," said Small. "So we believe the victim was riding his bike on the marked bike lane… when the striking vehicle crossed over into the bike lane, not only striking this victim on his bicycle, but then the striking vehicle actually jumped onto the curb and hit a (SEPTA) sign."
The force tore that metal sign out of the cement. Investigators believed at least one headlight and a rear view mirror was damaged on striking vehicle -- possibly a Buick, said police.
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Police asked anyone with information to contact them. In the meantime, they hope the driver surrenders without further incident.
"There's still time, turn yourself in, do the right thing, don't wait for the police to identify you and come and get you, it's only going to make things a lot worse for you," said Small.
Police in Dover, Delaware were also searching for a hit-and-run driver Friday who struck and killed a 42-year-old man.
The driver struck the man just before 1:30 a.m. on Friday on S. State Street just south of Roosevelt Avenue, said police. The driver struck the man and dragged him for roughly 60 feet before fleeing the scene, said police.
First responders declared the man dead on the scene.
