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In a bid to solve a tragic hit-and-run incident, the Los Angeles Police Department has announced a $50,000 reward for information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of the driver responsible for a fatal crash. The incident claimed the life of a 65-year-old man from the Chicago area.
The victim, a resident of Schiller Park, is fondly remembered by his family as a spirited individual who could engage in conversation with just about anyone.
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On Thursday, detectives revealed the reward as they persist in their efforts to identify the driver who fatally struck Jose “Joey” Melesio on April 27.
Melesio was in Los Angeles visiting family and had plans to attend a Dodgers-Cubs baseball series that weekend, according to his relatives.
“He was sending us photos and selfies, showing us his view from about six or seven rows behind the Cubs dugout at Dodger Stadium,” shared Alejandro Hernandez, Melesio’s nephew.
Family members described Melesio as a devoted relative and urged the driver to come forward.
“Just the kind of back and forth with them at the game,” the victim’s brother Bruno Melesio said. “I can just imagine him at the game, back-and-forth with family and just people in the crowd probably.”
Police said Melesio was walking when he was struck by a vehicle traveling north at a high rate of speed. Investigators said the driver did not stop to render aid, making the case a felony hit-and-run.
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Authorities described the suspect vehicle as a small, four-door sedan, possibly white, gray or silver.
“It looks like it could be white, gray, light gray, silver in color, but not too much of that,” LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno said. “We haven’t gotten yet, on video, a shot of the driver yet; so we don’t know nothing yet about the suspect.”
Police are also asking auto body shops to contact investigators if anyone recently brought in a small four-door sedan with front-end damage.
The family has started a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses and bring Melesio’s body back to Chicago.
ABC7 Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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