Cyclist Recovering, Family Seeks Answers After Rickenbacker Causeway Hit-and-Run

What to Know

The hit-and-run occurred on Tuesday between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on the Rickenbacker Causeway.
Anyone with information is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.

A cyclist is recovering from a serious hit-and-run incident that occurred on the Rickenbacker Causeway as his family seeks to identify the driver.

Jorge Rouco was hit by a driver who sped off on Tuesday between 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. He underwent an operation on Wednesday and is in stable condition.

Cynthia Vasconez, his wife, feared the worst.

"They could have left him for dead and that's what kills us. How can somebody be out there and not stop?" Vasconez said.

Rouco sustained fractured ribs, internal bleeding, road rash and blood in his lungs.

"He said he just remembers a bang on his back. His lower-left back, where the ribs and kidney are. That was the biggest point of impact – threw him off the bike, so he landed on the helmet on his face, the arms, everything else," Vasconez said.

Vasconez is urging the community to come forward if someone witnessed the incident.

"I haven’t gone home since we got here last night and this person I’m sure went home and went to sleep, and we didn't know today if he was going to be ok or not," she said.