A Levittown, Bucks County, man was charged Friday in a hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist last month, but authorities believe he will be tough to track down: He has allegedly fled to Turkey.
Ali Hakan Cifter, 35, allegedly drove a Mercedes Benz with Florida license plates that struck and killed Kevin Williams about 8 p.m., Dec. 19, on Bristol Pike near Corson Street in Bristol Township, authorities said.
Two days after the crash, Cifter allegedly fled on a flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Serbia, with his eventual destination being Turkey, according to Bucks County Deputy District Attorney Robert D. James.
After arriving overseas, Cifter, who is a native of Turkey, allegedly called Bristol police Dec. 23 and confessed his involvement in the crash, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's office.
"He told Faight that the victim had jumped out in front of him, and that he had left the scene because he was scared," according to the district attorney's office in a statement online.
The next day, on Christmas Eve, a sergeant with Bristol police received an email from Cifter "in which Cifter again acknowledged his involvement in the crash," the county DA's office said in the statement.
James, who is handling the case, said he would work with federal authorities to try having Cifter extradited to the United States to face felony charges in the case.
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Cifter was allegedly racing another vehicle when he struck Williams on the bike, authorities have said.
The impact killed Williams. He lived less than a block away and was riding home from work at the time, his daughter, Brittany Williams, told NBC10. She saw the wreckage on Tuesday night but didn't realize her father died in the wreck until Wednesday morning.
"He was right here," she said while in tears. "He was so close to home."
Kevin Williams did HVAC work for a company 10 minutes from his home. The deadly crash occurred a block away from where he and his wife raised three children.
"All of this just right before Christmas and it just, like I would just like the person to come forward and just accept what they did," Brittany Williams said at the time.