BSO Investigating Deadly Hit And Run Crash
DEERFIELD BEACH (CBSMiami) – The Broward County Sheriff's Office is investigating a hit and run crash that killed a pedestrian.
The crash happened in the 800 block of W. Sample Road in Deerfield Beach around 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning.
Investigators said a 29-year-old man from Pompano Beach died. The man's family identified him as Jorge Escalante.
"I loved him as a son," said Cynthia Ortiz, his fiancee's mother.
The driver of the vehicle that hit and killed the man has not been located.
Escalante's family members said he was planning a wedding with his girlfriend of two years, Lisa Rivera.
"He was a great guy, he was like a father to her kids they were getting married in two months on the beach," said Ortiz to CBS4's Maggie Newland.
Ortiz said her daughter and Escalante were at a club and Escalante decided to stay longer than his fiancée. He was walking home when he was hit.
"She came home and we got a call from his cousin he saw him laying in the street dead the person who hit him ran didn't stop," said Ortiz.
"I thought I was gonna have a heart attack when I heard this. I'm very sad," added Cynthia Rivera, his fiancee's daughter.
Twelve-year-old Cynthia says Escalante was very much a member of her family.
She created a memorial for him in the family's kitchen.
"He was like a stepdad he was a good person to us he took care of us and everything," Rivera said.
The family has a message for the driver who didn't stop.
"You need to show your face you need to come forward cause if you don't God will pay you for what you did cause it's horrible just think if it's your family would you like someone to stop it's not right," Ortiz said.
Evidence from the scene could help investigators determine a make and model of the vehicle.
If you have any information, contact Broward County Crime Stoppers (954) 493-8477 (TIPS).
