A family in San Pedro is in mourning after a driver knocked down a father while riding a bicycle and then left him to die in the street.
Surveillance video from a nearby business captured what appeared to be a silver or light-colored Toyota Scion hitting 51-year-old Oscar Montoya and throwing him against a nearby fence. The driver stopped for about three seconds before pulling away.
“We are all devastated. We are in disbelief. We weren’t prepared for this,” Montoya’s son Joshua Montoya said.
Joshua Montoya said the crash happened around 12.40pm on Saturday. His father was biking on Pacific Avenue, just south of Channel Street, after picking up an order from a food truck when he was hit.
Paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead at the scene.
“My dad was a big teddy bear, to put it plain and simple. He was very loving, caring, very compassionate,” Joshua Montoya said. “And he was the kind of person who worked hard for his family and put everyone before himself.”
Police are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who killed Oscar Montoya.
His son implored the driver to turn himself in and had a message for anyone who might know the suspect: “If you help this person, think about it yourself. What if your dad got hit and left dead on the ground, and you looked and ducked instead of coming out?
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Los Angeles Police Department.
This story first appeared on Telemundo 52’s sister station NBCLA. Click here to read this story in English.