An Italian man is facing serious charges after fleeing the scene of a Miami motorcycle crash that killed his passenger, authorities said.
Vito Cacciapaglia, 25, was arrested Friday on charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and vehicular homicide in a reckless manner, an arrest report said.
The crash happened around 4:25 p.m. Thursday at Northeast 3rd Avenue and Northeast 54th Street, when Cacciapaglia was operating a Kawasaki motorcycle recklessly and performing a wheelie when he lost control, the report said.
Cacciapaglia and his passenger fell into the roadway as the motorcycle slid and struck a BMW X5, the report said.
Police said Cacciapaglia was seen fleeing the scene on foot.
Miami Fire Rescue responded and brought the motorcycle passenger to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in critical condition and pronounced dead a short time later.
Investigators determined the motorcycle was registered to a nearby address and when officers responded they met a man who said his roommate returned with injuries to his side and “appeared to be in an altered state of mind,” the report said.
The man said the roommate told him he was going to Jackson Memorial Hospital, and when officers responded they found Cacciapaglia in the emergency room, the report said.
Surveillance footage from a nearby gas station showed a man matching the description of Cacciapaglia operating the motorcycle just before the crash, the report said.
Cacciapaglia appeared in bond court by video from a hospital bed on Monday, where Judge Mindy Glazer expressed concerns about him being a flight risk due to his Italian citizenship.
Glazer set his bond at $100,000, ordered him to surrender his passport, and told him not to drive.