Friends, Family Mourning Loss Of Michael Pereira, Killed In Yonkers Hit-And-Run; Police Arrest Cesar Zapata Ramirez
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An arrest has been made in a fatal hit-and-run crash on Interstate 87.
The memorial on 192nd Street is impressively large for a man who made a big impression on his friends and family.
They often kidded 30-year-old Michael Pereira about his love of sunflower seeds, his daily doughnut and his motorcycle.
He was a lifelong Bronxite and worked as a forklift driver at Perrigo Pharmaceuticals. Friends and family say he was helping to raise his longtime partner's daughter.
"He was a brother. He was a good friend. He'd done a lot for a lot of people. He touched a lot of souls, especially with the bike and all," brother-in-law Jamel Davis told CBS2's Tony Aiello.
Pereira was a member of the Legion of Doom motorcycle club. His Honda was his prized possession.
State police say Pereira was riding southbound Monday evening on I-87 in Yonkers.
A driver of a black SUV allegedly lurched across multiple lanes of traffic to reach an exit, and the motorcycle slammed into the rear of the SUV.
Police say the driver did not render aid or even bother to stop.
State police say the SUV's rear bumper was damaged and its rear window was shattered. There's no way that driver didn't know he was involved in an accident.
"That means you have no remorse for a person 'cause any person with the right state of mind, you hit a person? You get out, you check on that person," Davis said. "In this particular moment, you kept going. You gave zero tolerance of care."
Investigators used license plate and other data gathered at the Westchester County Police Real Time Crime Center to arrest Cesar Zapata Ramirez, a 28-year-old Bronx man.
His bond was set at $10,000 for felony leaving the scene of a fatal collision.
"It's a little closure but still not gonna bring back my uncle. All the time he was there for me. It's never gonna be the same without him," said John Bruno, the victim's nephew.
A sentiment shared by many.
