[UPDATE BELOW]
Police on Staten Island are searching for the driver of a black SUV or pick-up truck who fatally ran over a cyclist last night near Wagner College. The unidentified 29-year-old cyclist was killed while biking along a curved stretch of road around 9 p.m. He was carrying a backpack containing a Wagner College folder and other papers, and the force of the collision knocked off one of his sneakers. The Staten Island Advance reports that according to a preliminary investigation the cyclist was headed "eastbound," or uphill, on the "westbound" side of the road.
"He landed on his chest. He was totally unresponsive," says one local resident who emerged from her home after hearing the crash. "He moved not one iota, nothing. We were out here in a minute. There must have been 12 people calling 911. He didn't move. It's very, very horrible. I don't know how you'd just hit someone and take off."
Police spent last night futilely combing the area for the vehicle, which they say has its front grill missing. Anyone with information about the hit-and-run driver is encouraged call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS (8477); visit nypdcrimestoppers.com or send text tips to CRIMES (274637), then enter TIP577.
Update 2 p.m.: The cyclist had been identified as 29-year-old Wagner College student Ronald Tillman. He was studying to be a nurse, and here's an awfully sad photo of him.
