PLANT CITY, Fla. (WFLA) – The search is on for a driver accused of hitting and killing a man in Plant City.
On N. Forbes Road just south of US Highway 92, a cactus smashed into the ground and some crime scene tape is all that’s left of a hit-and-run investigation Friday night around 11.
“We saw police lights so we went to the road and that’s when we saw the guy dead,” Jessica Kopel said.
Kopel lives a few houses down from where investigators with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office say a 63-year-old man was walking on the side of the road and then hit by a vehicle in the darkness of night.
Deputies are looking for a dark-colored truck seen in the area soon after. Unsure if it was involved, they want to know what the driver knows about Friday night.
That man hit and killed was Narender Reddy. His brothers and two adult sons own a corner gas station mart.
“He was going to his house. Not far behind right here,” says Reddy’s cousin, Neaveen Gaddem.
His family tells us he had moved to this country less than a year ago. Described as a husband that helped out his family and anyone he could.
Even his family in India is reacting to the news.
“We can’t explain in words. That’s very sad to all of them and all of us,” Gaddem said.
A store that rarely ever shuts their doors to customers is now chained up while the family deals with his death. Meanwhile, the driver that hit and killed Reddy is still out there.
“We need to punish him. The police need to punish him severely so it doesn’t happen again, and again, and again to other people,” Gaddem said.
If you know anything about this investigation please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS.