MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating an apparent hit-and-run crash after a man's body was found Thursday along a road in Martin County.
"My heart breaks," cycling advocate Dawn Irvin said.
Irvin is the owner of the Village Bike shop in Hobe Sound. She said unfortunately eventually you'll hear about someone on a bike being hit by a vehicle.
"We should be able to share the road," she said. "We should have mutual respect."
Just down the road from Irvin's shop on Bridge Road, a homeowner found a bike earlier in the week. Then Thursday, a construction worker found a man in a water-filled ditch not far from where the bike was discovered.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said it appears the two are connected and it appears this situation is a hit-and-run.
"Somebody traveling on Bridge Road, probably at a fairly high speed, based on what we're seeing, hit the bicyclist," Snyder said. "Then for a reason we don't know, did not stop and fled the scene."
Snyder said that section of Bridge Road is dangerous.
"I know the county commission and the state, people are looking at trying to do something, widen that road, put more lights out there," Snyder said. "It's pitch black at night."
Irvin said cyclists need to invest in helmets, lights and alternative routes that aren't so traffic heavy.
"I recommend routes that might not be necessarily the fastest for that rider who is trying to set a personal best, but we go the safest [route]," Irvin said.
Right now, it's early into the investigation. If you know anything about this incident, you are urged to call the Florida Highway Patrol.
