Family and friends of a man killed by a hit-and-run driver while cycling gathered for a memorial bike ride in Miami Saturday on the one-year-anniversary of the crash.
Miguel Rocafort, 51, was struck last March while riding his bike in the area of Southwest 137th Avenue and Southwest 184th Street and died several days later from his injuries. The driver who hit him fled the scene and was never caught.
Dozens of Rocafort's family and friends gathered to participate in the memorial ride and hoped to get the message out to drivers that roads have to be shared with cyclists.
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"We have to share the road, keep three feet from the bikers, not only bikers but pedestrians and runners, give them their space, they're people too, they're enjoying the road," stepson Andre Caballero said.
Caballero and others also want to bring attention to what they call a culture of hit-and-runs in Miami-Dade.
"We just can't accept this behavior anymore, it's like there's a culture of this hit and run here," friend Gary Mendenhall said.
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"If you did something just man up and stay and take responsibility for your actions," Caballero said.
Commissioner Joe Garcia also attended the memorial ride to give the family support.
"When you see what happened here your heart goes out to the family," Garcia said.
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He said drivers need to be more responsible especially when cyclists and pedestrians are around.
Mendenhall said the basic message is one of respect.
"A lot of people think the roads are made just for cars but the roads are made for bikes, for pedestrians, for everybody," Mendenhall said. "That's why there's sidewalks and that's why there's bike lanes, everybody's gotta use the roads and everybody's gotta respect everybody else on the road."
