CAMERAS TAPE HIT-AND-RUN; CYCLIST ID'D AS ENRIQUE GARZA

Special To El Rrun-Rrun

Police are now on the hunt of the unidentified driver who struck a cyclist on Elizabeth Street, dragged him and his mangled bicycle for almost half a block and left him there to die.

The name of the victim is Enrique Garza and one of his sisters said the first they heard that he had died as a result of a hit-and-run was at about 1:45 a.m. when a police officer called them to let them know.

And some late-night frolickers who were out and about that night said they had seen a white sports car drive away from the accident site, at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

One of the men who walked to the corner of 10th and Elizabeth streets reported to El Rrun-Rrun that he had seen a body covered with sheets and the mangled remains of a bicycle. He said police on the scene said they were looking for a car that fled the scene.

"The guy got hit on Elizabeth and dragged almost to the post office," one caller reported. "The car took off."

Sources say the man lived alone in an apartment on East 10th Street near E. Fronton Street, just scant blocks from where he was struck. Residents there said they hoped police investigators will find the person responsible for Garza's death and prosecute them to the full extent of the law.

"How can you just leave someone there to die on the street?," asked a neighbor. "I hope the police arrest them so the crime won't go unpunished. I can just imagine what his mother and family is going through." 

One of Garza's sisters said their mother was unable to speak to reporters about the accident and that she was in deep mourning over her son's death. 

Police sources say that the fatal accident was captured by the city's downtown surveillance system and that it showed a white late-model luxury sports car clearly striking Garza and dragging him down the street. The car then drives off.

 The $480,000 surveillance system was approved by the City of Brownsville Commission on August 2018 and 40 cameras were installed in November of that year.

Brownsville public officials then said the move was necessary to improve safety in downtown Brownsville.

Then-District 4 Commissioner Ben Neece – who spearheaded their installation – said the cameras were  installed throughout six blocks in the downtown area which includes the Elizabeth-10th street intersection where the cyclist was reportedly struck.

Now, thanks to the cameras, catching the hit-and-run driver who struck Garza may be one step closer.