86-year-old charged in hit-and-run death of Safety Harbor cyclist
Police have arrested an 86-year-old Clearwater man in conjunction with the hit-and-run death of a cyclist in Safety Harbor on Thursday.
Pinellas County Sheriff’s investigators on Saturday charged Timothy Rush with leaving the scene of a crash involving death. He was booked into county jail early Saturday morning and released on bond that evening.
The crash occurred around 9 p.m. Thursday, when Pinellas deputies responded to 3180 Enterprise Road, where cyclist Mindy Miran Yi, 36, was found injured by the road. Police said she had been driving west on Enterprise when a westbound vehicle struck the back of her bike. Yi was taken to the hospital and died there on Friday.
After police asked for tips from anyone with information about the crash, an investigator received a voicemail from Rush asking for a return call. Police were not able to reach Rush by phone, but discovered that he was in Safety Harbor on Saturday, having left a Knights of Columbus meeting there at around 8:45 p.m.
A search warrant found evidence of passenger-side damage to Rush’s Buick Enclave, including purple paint marks on the bumper matching the color of Yi’s bike.
Deputies with the sheriff’s Major Accident Investigation Team are still investigating the incident.
About one quarter of all traffic crashes are deemed hit-and-run cases, the Tampa Bay Times previously reported.
