Vigil held for bicyclist fatally struck by hit and run driver in the Bronx
MOUNT HOPE, Bronx (WABC) -- A vigil was held Tuesday night for a bicyclist killed by a hit and run driver in the Bronx.
A 'ghost bike' was installed on Webster Avenue just underneath the Cross Bronx Expressway in memory of Carlos Vasquez.
Ghost bikes are memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street.
Police believe a truck driver struck Vasquez Monday night and kept on going.
While police search for the driver, his family, friends, and activists are calling for safer streets.
They demanded not just an arrest but safer traffic flow for all bikers and pedestrians. "So many hit and run drivers are getting away with murder and the NYPD is not doing enough to investigate and track down these killers," said Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives.
"We are sending a message that it's ok to kill someone as long as you're in a vehicle," said City Councilman Ritchie Torres.
Vasquez, who was affectionately called Lito, helped support his mother and 6-year-old twin brothers. His mother says he worked for a moving company and would be gone weeks at a time. But when he was home, his passion was getting on his bike. He loved riding with friends.
"He was one of the best BMX riders out here in the Bronx," said a friend, Michael Torres.
"Emotionally, I'm just completely drained," said the victim's mother Maria Ruiz through a translator.
There was no bike lane where Carlos was fatally struck.
His bike was destroyed in the fatal accident. Once officials are finished processing it for evidence, his friends are hoping to retrieve it and restore it in his memory.
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