Cyclist dies after being struck by minivan driver in Union County
PLAINFIELD, N.J. -- A Union County man was killed Friday while riding his bike to pick up odd jobs as neighbors say he did every day.
As CBS2's Lisa Rozner reports, it's possible that prior to the crash, police tried to pull over the vehicle that struck him.
There is a male suspect in custody who is likely the driver or passenger of the vehicle.
The prosecutor says two incidents involved the suspect -- the hit-and-run death and an officer-involved shooting that occurred on the same street. We are told no one was struck by bullets.
Surveillance video taken around 8:40 a.m. shows the victim riding his bike on West Front Street before suddenly a blue minivan strikes him from behind. The man was sent flying several storefronts forward, and people ran up the street to help.
About 30 seconds later, a police car drives by.
"We heard it, and then a gentleman said go outside and see, and it was chaos," Plainfield resident Maria Dalrymple said.
Witnesses of the aftermath say the bicyclist's brother held him as he took his last breaths.
"He said, my brother dead and I don't know what to do. We say, like, sorry for your loss, man, and we start to give him a hug and whatever. Anyone from the coworkers start to help him, the money, you know, and they start crying with them. We start cleaning his eyes," Plainfield resident Abdul Attia said.
"Him and his brother ... they were small. I couldn't imagine him getting hit by that. The minivan has so much damage to it," Dalrymple said.
The man's brother was visibly upset and told CBS2 in Spanish he didn't want to say anything. No one CBS2 spoke with knew the victim's name, but said they knew him by his face and positive persona.
"I seen them every single day. He always like to help people. Whatever, any store around here, you need them for help, like clean the parking lot, doing the snow for them. He will do for even $5, $10. They will. They always looking for work," Attia said.
We are told the homicide task force is investigating. Charges are forthcoming for the male suspect who is in custody.
