DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Police are searching for the driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash of a 71-year-old pedestrian who was walking to his apartment from a convenience store on Saturday night in Delray Beach.
The Delray Police Department didn’t release the name of the victim as of Sunday night. But three family members told WPTV the victim was Romeo Della Valle.
Remulus Della Valle, who said he is Romeo’s identical twin brother, said he enjoyed writing poems and painting. He described him as smart, thoughtful and easygoing.
“It’s hard to recover from such a loss,” Remulus said. “…It’s something unexpected. It’s hard to get over”
Police said the crash happened around 7:30 p.m. at 1301 SW 10th Ave, according to a news release Sunday. The location is close to a bus stop and an apartment complex, which family members said is where Romeo lived.
Police said the driver drove away heading southbound toward Linton Boulevard.
Police said they are looking for a car related to the crash, which is a dark cherry red or dark-colored 2013 to 2016 Chevy Malibu. According to police, they believe the car received significant damage to its front end, including the grill, headlights, windshield and the front-end driver’s side fog light cover.
Spray paint was still on the road as of Sunday evening showing the point of impact and the location of a hat. Family members said the body was also dragged into the grass, which was marked with paint as well.
Remulus and other family members flew from New York after the crash. He said he’s hoping somebody reaches out to police with information to make an arrest.
“We need to apprehend and chain this criminal because he’s a criminal to hit somebody like that and abandon somebody at high speed is a crime and people should be punished for that,” the brother said.
Romeo’s family created a makeshift memorial on Sunday night near the location of the crash. They said he was coming home from a convenience store when the crash occurred.
Shiwanda Yorker, who said she’s one of Romeo’s neighbors, said she was concerned about him after she saw his green cart bent on the side of the road.
She said he was an “awesome guy,” who had a lot of positive energy and took care of his family by working at Home Depot.
“I miss him so much,” Yorker said. “He was such a wonderful guy.”
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