More than a year after an 18-year-old was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while riding his bicycle in northwest Miami-Dade, a man has turned himself in to face charges in connection with the crash.
Frederick Howard Bailey, 45, was booked into a Miami-Dade jail Monday on charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, driving with a suspended license and attempted tampering with physical evidence, records showed.
The charges stem from the Feb. 9, 2020 crash that killed Derek Betancourt.
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Miami-Dade Police said Betancourt was riding his bike in the area when he was hit by a Mercedes Benz C300 in the area of Northwest 196th Street and Northwest 47th Avenue.
The car fled the scene and Betancourt was left in the middle of the street. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center where he died from his injuries.
Betancourt's mother spoke out after her son's death as she pleaded for answers from the community about who hit him.
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"He was my child. He was only 18 years old. Full of life," Yanelis Betancourt said. "He wasn’t a dog to be thrown that way and be left behind."
According to an arrest report, the Mercedes was found at an auto mechanic in West Park a few days after the incident with damage consistent with hitting Betancourt.
The tow truck driver who brought the car to the mechanic told investigators he had picked it up at Bailey's home and that it had a vehicle cover on it, the report said. The tow truck driver said Bailey requested that the Mercedes be towed with the cover on it, the report said.
The report said investigators found data on Bailey's cellphone that showed he was in the area of the crash, and they discovered that he was driving with a suspended license at the time of the crash.
Bailey was being held on $16,500 bail, jail records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
