Victim's Dog Runs To Get Help, Driver Flees In Fatal Hit & Run
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- City of Miami Police are looking for the driver involved in a hit-and-run that left a 33-year-old man dead.
"I don't believe he's gone," said Carmen Montoya, who sobbed as she talked about her only child, Pedro Gonzalez, being struck and killed off N.W. 12th Avenue and 4th Street.
Surveillance video from a nearby business shows Gonzalez out walking his dog just a couple of blocks away from his apartment shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday night.
Another angle shows the moment the martial arts instructor is struck by a vehicle police describe as a 2006 green Chrysler 300 sedan with front-end damage.
"Miami Fire Rescue arrived but it was some time before they were able to get him from under a car, which is where he rolled and was pinned under," said City of Miami Police officer Kenia Fallat.
The victim's mother says it was her son's beloved dog he rescued from a shelter six months ago that let her know something was wrong when the animal came back to the apartment by himself.
"I said, 'What's wrong? Why you come back alone?' And he was scared and shaking, so I start calling my son on the phone and the dog was by my side just trying to say something," said Montoya.
Montoya went looking for her son and when she saw police and an ambulance in the area, she knew something bad had happened.
Her son was rushed to nearby Ryder Trauma Center.
His injuries were so severe, Gonzalez died Sunday afternoon, breaking his mother's heart and leaving her asking the public to help her find justice for her son.
"I pray that somebody can give the number of the tag of that vehicle," said Montoya. "If this guy is listening or whatever, I just tell him, don't make things worse. You're going to get caught one way or the other."
If you have information on the case, contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.