A 25-year-old motorcyclist is facing charges after Miami police say he crashed while performing a wheelie and then fled, leaving his passenger to die.
The crash happened around 4:25 p.m. on Aug. 27 in the 300 block of Northeast 54th Street, an artery that divides Miami’s Little Haiti and Buena Vista neighborhoods, according to Local 10 News. Police say Vito Cacciapaglia was riding his Kawasaki motorcycle recklessly and popped a wheelie when he lost control, spinning into a BMW X5 traveling the opposite direction and throwing both himself and his passenger onto the pavement.
Cacciapaglia then left the scene, telling people nearby he was heading to Jackson Memorial Hospital, according to Hoodline. His passenger was rushed by medics to Jackson Memorial’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition and died soon after arrival.
Manhunt, then a hospital bond hearing
Police issued a be-on-the-lookout notice for a man in a white tank top and black shorts, barefoot and appearing to be injured on his right side. Cacciapaglia was still being treated at Jackson Memorial when he appeared remotely, from a hospital bed, at his Miami-Dade bond hearing on Monday.
He faces charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and reckless vehicular homicide. Jail records also show a charge of providing a false name or identification after his arrest.
Miami-Dade Judge Mindy Glazer set his bond at $100,000 and ordered him not to drive if he posts it. Because Cacciapaglia is an Italian national, Glazer also ordered him to surrender his passport upon release.
What happens next
Cacciapaglia has not yet entered a plea. His case will proceed through Miami-Dade criminal court once he is released from the hospital, and the identity of his passenger has not been made public in the reporting so far.
