DAVIE, Fla. – The family of 20-year-old Matthew Castellano is trying to track down at least two good Samaritans who came to his aid, trying to save him following a crash that would ultimately claim his life.
The crash happened on State Road 7, just south of Interstate 595 in Davie, on Sept. 5.
Castellano was a tow truck driver by trade and had just gotten off work that night.
“He was fun loving and he wanted everybody to laugh,” Michaleen Crimmins, Castellano’s mother, said. “He was always laughing.”
A friend called Castellano, who was riding his motorcycle, to help after his car had broken down.
“He wanted to make sure the guy got home so he said he would follow him and when he was driving on 441, the truck pulled out in front of him,” Crimmins said.
Surveillance video shows the large truck seconds before impact; the crash happens just outside the camera’s eye.
The truck’s driver stopped and called 911 but did not render aid.
“I don’t know, I’m not going back there,” the driver told the dispatcher after she asked what color the motorcycle was.
“How are you that heartless?” Walter Castellano, Matthew’s father, asked. “You just hit somebody, you don’t go and check to see if they’re OK? That’s what I would do.”
Family members are trying to find the good Samaritan who called 911. They only know his voice, not his name.
“All I have is his voice,” Crimmins said. “It doesn’t give us his name or anything or his phone number but I really want to talk to him and see what he saw because he was the last person to see my son.”
The man who was behind the wheel was not arrested. Family members said they’ve learned that he is now out of the country and they worry about the investigation.
Davie police said they are not releasing more information on the case, as it’s still considered an active and ongoing investigation.