Driver Pleads Guilty in Fatal Rickenbacker Hit and Run

Michele Traverso, 25, pleaded guilty to charges in the death of Aaron Cohen, 36

The driver charged in the hit-and-run crash that killed a cyclist on the Rickenbacker Causeway in February has pleaded guilty, The Miami Herald reported.

Michele Traverso, 25, pleaded guilty without a plea deal to charges of leaving the scene of an accident involving a death, leaving the scene of an accident with great bodily harm and driving with a suspended license, according to the Herald.

He also pleaded guilty to a separate cocaine possession charge, according to online Miami-Dade court records.

Traverso pleaded guilty Tuesday, his attorney Ramon de la Cabada said.

Traverso fatally struck Aaron Cohen, 36, and injured Enda Walsh, who was riding with him, on the eastbound side of the Rickenbacker near the William Powell Bridge on Feb. 15, according to police.

Cohen died from his injuries the next day.

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Traverso fled the scene but later turned himself in to authorities. He surrendered to police 18 hours after the crash, and investigators could not prove that his blood alcohol level was above the state limit because of that delay, the Herald reported.

Traverso faces between just under two years and 35 years in prison, according to the Herald.

A court hearing Thursday will determine Traverso's sentencing date, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said.

The February incident led to calls for increased safety for cyclists on the causeway. Cohen’s widow, Patti, led a memorial bike ride in her husband’s honor from the Rickenbacker to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in June.

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