A man accused in a Miami hit-and-run crash that killed a 76-year-old woman across the street from her Liberty City apartment has been arrested, according to police.
Rodrick Davis Jr., 33, has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death.
On Monday morning, around 8 a.m., Koritza Ortiz, a beloved mother and grandmother, was crossing NW 7 Avenue at 60th Street when a driver hit her and fled the scene, Miami police said.
“This is a great example of the work put in by the men and women of the traffic homicide unit. The work diligently on each and every one of their cases. It’s a gratifying feeling to be able to tell the family of that victim that the person responsible for killing their mother, or their grandmother, has since been placed behind bars,” Delva said after the arrest.
“I am very happy and very glad and relieved that he was that he was arrested. My mom meant so much and she deserves justice and she would have wanted justice herself. So I’m glad and relieved,” Arliette Melara said.
Melara said she believes her mother may have survived if Davis had stopped to render aid or call for help.
How the arrest came about
Using parts of the vehicle left behind after the crash and a witness description, police were able to determine it was a white GMC SUV, from model years 2018 to 2023. The witness was also able to provide investigators with a description of the driver.
Surveillance video from the area on the morning of the crash showed a white GMC Terrain traveling at a high rate of speed before striking Ortiz and then continuing north on NW 7 Avenue, according to investigators.
A search was conducted and a vehicle that matched the description, including the front end damage described by the witness, was located.
Police identified Davis as the driver, which was confirmed when the witness picked his picture out of a photo line-up on Tuesday. Davis was taken into custody early Wednesday morning and charged.
“This is a great example of the work put in by the men and women of the traffic homicide unit. The work diligently on each and every one of their cases. It’s a gratifying feeling to be able to tell the family of that victim that the person responsible for killing their mother, or their grandmother, has since been placed behind bars,” Delva said after the arrest.
