MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Miami Beach police said a man who is accused of fatally striking a pedestrian Sunday had left work to go to a nearby Walgreens to get a Red Bull drink.
According to an arrest report, Angel Cuesta, 31, who works the front desk at the Red South Beach Hotel at 3010 Collins Ave., took the keys of a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze from the valet keys cabinet and headed to the store.
Police said Cuesta was heading north on Collins Avenue when he struck a woman who was crossing the intersection of 38th Street.
Police said the woman, who was homeless and in her 50s, was crossing the street a notable distance south of the marked crosswalk.
The woman was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she died.
The crash caused extensive damage to the front left side of the windshield and bumper, the report said.
Police said Cuesta told someone about the crash about an hour after it happened.
That person identified Cuesta as a hotel employee to police.
Police said Cuesta confessed to striking the victim with the car and leaving the scene, even though he saw her lying in the street.
A cab driver who witnessed the crash told Local 10 News that he tried to stop Cuesta.
"He seem like he (was) gonna stop. He slow down, then he go," Joseph Deceus said. "I saw the car make a left and I followed the guy. I seen the lady got hit and I say, 'You gonna stop?'"
Police said Cuesta claimed that he tried to avoid the crash, but couldn't.
Cuesta also admitted to trying to hide the vehicle in a gated parking garage at 3535 Indian Creek, the arrest report said.
He faces a charge of leaving the scene of a crash resulting in a death.
Cuesta was released from jail overnight on a $10,000 bond.
A manager at the Red South Beach Hotel told Local 10 News reporter Sanela Sabovic that she had no comment about the incident.
Another employee at the hotel said management had instructed all employees not to speak to the media as the investigation is ongoing.