Police Searching For Hit & Run Driver In Pembroke Pines
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PEMBROKE PINES (CBSMiami) – A Pembroke Pines family is pleading for help tonight to solve a hit and run crash that took the life of the family's patriarch.
Pembroke Pines Police say the driver hit David Veargis as he rode his bike home from work along University Drive in the early morning hours of December 12. Veargis' family wants the driver to be held accountable and they said they are relying on their faith for strength.
"We actually forgive that person," said Charley Veargis, the victim's brother. "Right now we do forgive them. We just like for them to turn themselves in."
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At a news conference Friday, tears came to the eyes of Veargis' son, Octavius, as he touched the bike his father rode all the time. Police say Veargis was riding northbound in the southbound lanes of University Drive on his ride that morning. Investigators say the vehicle that hit Veargis was a 2006 to 2009 Ford Fusion, however, investigators are not sure of the car's color.
They said the vehicle would have front end damage to the passenger side and a missing passenger side mirror.
"It's always a tragedy when they've lost a loved one and it just adds insult to injury when they still don't have any closure when they don't know who's responsible for taking the life of a loved one," said Pembroke Pines Police Captain Al Xiques.
Family members say Veargis lived with a persistent smile on his face. They wonder how a driver could hit anyone and simply keep on going. Andrea Fussell stopped by the memorial to her uncle on Friday. She still cannot believe this beloved father of 5 and grandfather of 11 was killed by a hit and run driver.
"How can you do that," said Fussell. "That was somebody's dad, granddad, my uncle. How could you just hit somebody and leave them like that? That's just heartless. That's heartless. How can you sleep at night?"
There is a reward of up to $3-thousand dollars being offered for information that leads to an arrest in this case. If you can help police find this hit and run driver contact Crimestoppers at 954 493 TIPS.
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