Aaron Cohen, one of the two bicyclist who were injured in an early morning hit-and-run car crash on the Rickenbacker Causeway on Wednesday morning, has died.
Meanwhile, police have arrested the driver Michele Traverso, 25, after he turned himself in early this morning. Traverso was driving with a suspended license and has a history of drug charges.
Cohen and his friend Enda Welsh were biking across the causeway around 6 a.m. on Wednesday morning when they were hit by a late-model, silver Honda. After the accident the driver sped off. Both victims were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital. Welsh sustained an ankle fracture, but Cohen had much more serious injuries to his head.
According to Local 10, Cohen has now died.
Cohen was an experienced cyclist, Ironman competitor, and a married father to two young children.
"As you can imagine I'm totally distraught," Cohen's father Stephen told CBS4 shortly after the accident. "Aaron is probably the nicest person who has ever lived."
"He was the kind of son that every father dreams about," said Cohen. "Everybody loves him, he's just special."
Cohen leaves behind his wife Patti and two children, 3-year-old Lilly and 1-year-old Aiden.
The 25-year-old man likely responsible for Cohen's death, Michele Traverso, is now behind bars. Police were able to identify the make and model of his car from debris left at the crash site. His car, with obvious damage, was eventually located. Traverso turned himself into police early this morning.
So far he's been charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and driving with a suspended license.
Traverso had previously been charged with possession of cocaine just last May and possession of marijuana in 2009.
Related content on a similar accident on the Rickenbacker Causeway:
- Hit-and-run driver Carlos Bertonatti isn't the only troublemaker in his family
- Cops Say Carlos Bertonatti Refused to Believe He'd Killed A Cyclist, Resisted Blood Tests
- Carlos Bertonatti Was a Terrible Driver Long Before He Was Charged With Killing a Biker
- Musician Carlos Bertonatti Charged In Fatal DUI Key Biscayne Crash; Bikers Outraged
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