Background: News footage of the traffic after the fatal crash that killed Perry Hernandez on Feb. 6 (KTLA). Inset: Perry Hernandez (Facebook).
In a tragic turn of events, a man from California, eager to enjoy a ride on his motorcycle, lost his life in a hit-and-run accident.
Fifty-eight-year-old Perry Hernandez was declared dead at the scene following a collision that involved his motorcycle, a BMW, and a box truck in the early hours of February 6. According to reports from the California Highway Patrol, the accident occurred around 6 a.m., with Hernandez found lying on the road. Local news station KTLA noted that while the BMW remained at the scene, the box truck fled before authorities arrived.
Hernandez’s grieving family is now reaching out to the public, seeking assistance in identifying the box truck driver responsible for leaving the accident scene.
Speaking to KTLA, Hernandez’s wife and children expressed their heartache and the pressing need for answers in the wake of his untimely death. Marissa Hernandez, Perry’s daughter, shared that her father had been looking forward to riding his motorcycle again after a long hiatus. On the morning of the fatal accident, he left home early to commute to work on his bike.
Marissa also revealed to KTLA that her grandmother, Perry’s mother, noticed something was amiss when she didn’t receive her regular morning call from him on February 6, raising a “red flag.” As attempts to reach Perry went unanswered, the family turned on the news, only to see a traffic jam on Los Angeles’s 110 freeway. Their hearts sank as they recognized Perry’s motorcycle at the accident site shown on camera.
Their worst suspicions were confirmed by authorities, who identified Perry Hernandez through the medical examiner’s office.
Perry Hernandez’s son, Perry Hernandez Jr., said the box truck driver’s apparent decision to flee the scene while his father lay in the road made “no sense.” He told KTLA, “[I] just think about him laying there and the person just driving away and living their day-to-day life.”
Marissa Hernandez was equally troubled by the truck driver’s alleged choice to leave the scene, telling KTLA, “It wasn’t okay for them to do what they did and treat him as if he was nothing. He had us to come home to.”
Perry Hernandez Jr. said he had just told his father that he was going to be a grandfather. He told KTLA, “My wife’s pregnant, and knowing my child won’t have their grandpa or my dad there, it hurts.”
Marissa Hernandez teared up as she told KTLA, “When I get married, I won’t have my dad to walk me down the aisle.”
Vahagn Koshkaryan, an attorney representing the Hernandez family, urged the driver and the company that may own the box truck and employ the driver to “be forthcoming … otherwise they could possibly be facing some criminal charges.”
KTLA reported that the California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, but has not arrested anyone yet. The Hernandez family and friends are seeking information and asking the public for help.
