The victim was riding his mountain bike around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in the northbound inner lanes when he was struck crossing Adams Avenue, police said.
[Ads /]
"He was unresponsive, lying next to a mountain bike that was clearly damaged in an accident," Small said.
The victim was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
A witness told police that the victim was on his bicycle, going west on Adams crossing the Boulevard, when he was hit by a pick-up truck.
"After the accident, the pickup truck driver continued to travel northbound in the inner lanes of Roosevelt Boulevard," Small said.
This fatal hit and run happened on the eve of Vision Zero releasing their annual report.
The city launched the Vision Zero Task Force in 2016 with the goal of making the transportation system safer and eliminating traffic deaths in Philadelphia.
[Ads /]
"This is still under investigation. We want to learn the details, and we want to identify measures that we can take to prevent that type of thing from happening in the future," stated Mike Carroll, Philadelphia's Deputy Managing Director for Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability.
There are efforts underway along the Roosevelt Boulevard to improve safety, like the Philadelphia Parking Authority-installed speed cameras which launched last year.
Carroll said they've already seen early successes with the cameras in reducing speeds, but this is an ongoing effort.
"We know the change will not happen overnight, and we will continue to plan for improvements, programs, education, and enforcement moving into the future," Carroll said.
Mayor Jim Kenney added aggressive and speeding drivers have a big role to play in safety, too.
"We will prosecute them if they God forbid kill somebody. If they violate traffic laws, we will do what we can to fine them as much as possible, and ultimately take their vehicles if necessary," Kenney said.
[Ads /]
There have been nine total traffic fatalities on Roosevelt Boulevard so far this year, including Tuesday night's crash.
Anyone with information about the deadly crash is asked to call Philadelphia police at 215-686-TIPS.