Police are looking for hit-and-run driver who killed a pedestrian in North Miami-Dade

Detectives are searching for a driver who bailed after killing a pedestrian early Monday morning in northern Miami-Dade County, according to authorities.

At 5:21 a.m., a man was crossing Biscayne Boulevard on Northeast 114th Avenue going westbound when he was struck by a dark-colored Volkswagen, said county police spokesman Chris Thomas.

The driver fled the scene where the man died without stopping to help him or call 911, Thomas said.

Pedestrian fatalities on the rise

Pedestrian deaths are increasing faster than all other traffic fatalities in the United States, according to a recent report of the Governors Highway Safety Association. The agency projects that 2021 saw the largest number of pedestrian fatalities in four decades.

Last year, Florida, with 4.13 deaths for every 100,000 residents, became the state with the second-highest rate of pedestrian fatalities, according to GHSA’s preliminary data. New Mexico had the highest rate at 4.77 deaths per 100,000.

Florida had 899 pedestrian deaths in 2021 compared to 716 in the previous year, an increase of nearly 26%.

In Miami-Dade, 100 people died last year in pedestrian crashes, 16 more than in 2020, according to preliminary data of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ Crash Dashboard. As of May 6, nearly 40 pedestrians have died in the county’s roadways.

This bulletin will be updated.