St. Petersburg, Florida -- A family is without their loved one tonight after police say he was killed after a hit-and run accident late Wednesday night.
Police say 81-year-old Tomas Melendez was a passenger in his wife's vehicle when another car, driving recklessly, sped past a stop sign and ran into their car.
It happened along the intersection of 15th avenue south and 25th street south in St. Petersburg.
"My back is sore. My rib is broken and I'm all bruised," says Anna Melendez, Tomas' wife.
Anna Melendez says her bruised body will heal but she'll never get over the loss of her beloved husband of 32 years.
"For him to go like this, it's shocking. But when she said I didn't cause the accident and said it was a hit and run, I started crying all over again," says Melendez.
The car Anna was driving, with her son Daniel in the back seat and husband Tomas in the passenger side, was hit so hard it rolled numerous times.
"This foot really hurts. There's a lot of cuts on it," says Daniel Melendez, Tomas's son.
Daniel suffered a fracture bone and is still grieving his father.
"He was just really important to me," says Melendez.
The Melendez's say they're still in shock by the loss of Tomas, but also by the fact that the man responsible ran from the scene.
The Melendez's were coming home from church, just a few minutes from there home when this happened.
Police say the suspect is a male, 20-30 with a beard. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
