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Parking Attendant Killed in Hit-and-Run in Downtown Miami

Posted on: Sunday, 11 June 2006, 18:00 CDT

By Stephanie Garry, The Miami Herald

Jun. 11--A 53-year-old parking attendant was killed in a hit-and-run accident early Sunday morning after he was struck by a Lincoln Navigator going the wrong way, Miami police said.

The Navigator sped off.

The victim, whose name has not been released because next of kin have not been notified, was standing near 36 NE 10th St. looking west to direct cars into the parking lot, which served nearby clubs including Metropolis, Gold Rush and Space, all located within a few blocks of the accident.

The Navigator, which witnesses described to police as white with tinted windows and chrome rims, was driving "like a bat out of hell," said Lt. William Schwartz, Miami police spokesman.

It hit the man about 4:15 Sunday morning, sending him some 40-feet up in the air, witnesses told police.

"This man made the mistake of assuming people would obey traffic laws. This simple faith cost him his life," Schwartz said.

Schwartz said partygoers were still milling around the area when he arrived on the scene about 6 a.m.

"We can make the assumption that this was a partygoer leaving for the day from clubbing," Schwartz said.

Police did not get a license plate number for the Navigator, whose driver may face charges of leaving the scene of an accident with injury and death, vehicular manslaughter, and driving the wrong way on a one-way street, Schwartz said.

The man was a "dedicated" employee of Park West Parking, said manager Edward Ward.

"He had a very high level of integrity and he'll be missed by all of us," Ward said. "He was a very hard worker and good friend to everybody."

Both the victim's cell phone and the money he was collecting for parking were missing from the body, Ward said, suggesting he had been robbed before police arrived. Without his cell phone, police have had trouble finding contact information for his two grown daughters, Ward said.

The victim had worked for Park West Parking for about a year and half, working daytime shifts to help park construction workers downtown, Ward said.

The man always volunteered to work extra shifts or special events, according to his supervisor.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Miami Herald

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