Hit-and-run accident in West Palm Beach kills bicyclist

Two Good Samaritans helped West Palm Beach Police apprehend a motorist who is suspected of striking and killing a bicyclist Friday night and then fleeing the scene, city police said Saturday.

The hit-and-run accident occurred on Okeechobee Boulevard near Sansburys Way at about 5 p.m. Friday, West Palm Beach police said. The motorist was detained about 10 blocks from the scene of the accident with the help of two motorists who followed the driver and eventually forced him to stop, said Mike Jachles, public information officer for the West Palm Beach Police.

"This is not something that we would encourage, but we are grateful to these two Good Samaritans who helped us make the arrest," Jachles said. Eyewitnesses told police the driver that struck the man riding the bicycle immediately fled the scene. Police said the driver had been swerving in and out of the lanes when he hit the bicyclist.

The crash occurred in the 8900 block of Okeechobee Boulevard. Investigators said the impact threw the victim about 50 feet. The victim's family has invoked Marsy's Law, which prevents police from releasing his name.

Jachles said the suspect has not been charged, noting that the investigation is continuing. He could face charges of DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crash, causing death, he said.

Jachles said that there was such damage done at the scene of the accident that it would have been difficult for the motorist not to have realized that he struck someone.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hit-and-run accident kills a bicyclist in West Palm Beach