ORLANDO, Fla. — A man was struck and killed in Orlando by a hit-and-run driver late Wednesday night, according to Florida Highway Patrol troopers.
Troopers said Bruce Kuiper, 58, of Orlando, was killed when someone backed into his wife's disabled car on Lake Underhill Road near Deerwood Avenue.
According to troopers, the driver of a Chevy Malibu stopped to help Kuiper and his wife, Yuk Heung, 50, around 10:30 p.m. when their car was having transmission problems.
Photos: Lake Underhill hit-and-run
Troopers said a red Nissan Pathfinder pulled up in front of Heung's car, and then backed into it, pushing it into Kuiper and the Malibu. The Pathfinder then left the scene.
The good Samaritan who stopped to help, who did not want to be identified, said he felt helpless as he watched the driver back up and crush the victim between the two cars.
“He wasn’t talking at all. He was just gushing blood out of his mouth,” said the good Samaritan. “Seeing someone die in front of you is unbelievable.”
He said he put down orange flares and had just warned the victim to wait for a tow truck inside his vehicle moments earlier.
“It was terrible. I mean, I couldn’t even sleep last night,” he said. “They should really turn themselves in, I mean, you just killed someone.”
It’s unknown if the crash was intentional, but troopers did confirm they’re looking for a red Nissan Pathfinder.
"We have two vehicles in the right turn lane stopped. And for some reason that hit-and-run vehicle passed them and then put it in reverse striking the first vehicle, one of the drivers on scene, and then striking the second vehicle, and then he fled the scene," Trooper Wanda Diaz said.
A piece of tail light was found at the scene, troopers said. They said the Pathfinder should have left rear-end damage.
“We have portions of the brake light, the rear brake light. We have portions of the actual bumper and all that combined with the witnesses' statements is what we have,” Diaz said.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477) or FHP at 407-737-2213.
WFTV
