Tragic Loss: New Bartender on Bike Struck Down by Hit-and-Run Driver

A Louisiana teenager has been sentenced to nearly a decade in prison after fleeing the scene of a fatal hit-and-run accident involving a local bartender bicycling home from work.

Nineteen-year-old Thomas Riggio III admitted guilt in October to charges of hit-and-run causing death. His actions led to the tragic passing of 36-year-old Michael Milam last year, in close proximity to New Orleans’ iconic French Quarter. On Friday, a judge handed down a nine-year prison sentence to Riggio.

The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office provided a statement to WDSU, a local NBC affiliate, detailing that Milam had just completed his work shift in the early hours of July 12 and was cycling home. At the same time, Riggio was with friends in the area and had been partying. Toxicology reports showed cocaine in his system, and his blood alcohol level was recorded at .07, even 12 hours following the accident.

The tragic incident occurred when Milam attempted to turn onto Alvar Street at St. Claude Avenue. Riggio, driving an Infiniti, collided with Milam and then fled the scene, leaving the cyclist gravely injured.

“Riggio’s actions took the life of a dedicated New Orleans resident who was merely trying to return home,” stated Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams. He added, “His choice to escape rather than assist the victim underscores the severe nature of this crime.”

According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Milam had recently moved from Houston to work at Cafe Lafitte in Exile, a well-known gay bar on Bourbon Street. Prior to returning to New Orleans, Milam spent several years as a bartender in the Houston area and was known for his volunteering efforts in the gay community there.

“Milam had recently returned to New Orleans, a city he loved, to continue his bartending career in the heart of the French Quarter’s LGBTQ community,” a GoFundMe said. “Though he had been back only a short time, his presence was already being felt by colleagues and patrons alike.”

For his part, Riggio apologized to Milam’s family during the sentencing hearing.

“Since the day of the accident, I’ve wanted nothing more than to look each and every one of you in the eyes and apologize,” he said, per the Times-Picayune. “I could not begin to imagine how I would feel if any of my three siblings were taken from me … the way I took your brother.”

Also according to the newspaper, some of Milam’s siblings felt the hit-and-run charge was too lenient, and that Riggio may have benefited from having a stepfather in the St. Bernard Parish Sheriff’s Office.

District Judge Kimya Holmes pointed out how Riggio’s poor driving history seemed to escalate from slamming into another car while doing doughnuts and speeding into a ditch in a separate incident.

“He was charged with hitting someone and not giving aid. Not even stopping to see what it was that he hit. I just don’t understand that. I don’t understand not seeing if you hit a human, not seeing if you hit a dog,” Holmes reportedly said. “If he would have just stayed, none of us would be in this situation right now.”