Jesse Cordova 21, is charged with knowingly leaving the scene of an accident involving great bodily harm or death.
According to a criminal complaint, Cordova struck bicyclist Ronald Brinkley around 5 a.m. Monday, near Ross and Yale SE. Brinkley was rushed to the hospital in critical condition
Police say arriving officers found a “destroyed” bicycle, scratches in the road where the bike had been dragged, tire scuff marks and pieces of bicycle helmet.
Witnesses told police Cordova hit Brinkley and kept driving, dragging Brinkley and his bicycle beneath the car “for about a block” before fleeing the scene.
Police say Brinkley’s boss, George Cook, offered a $5,500 reward through Crime Stoppers for any information on the driver and provided descriptions of the truck.
Cook told police Brinkley opened up his restaurant in the Sunport at 5 a.m. every morning and, to do so, Brinkley rode his bike to work “every single day for 12 years.”
Soon after the reward was posted an “anonymous tipster” called police and told them the truck belonged to Cordova and where police could find it.
Police say they found the truck, with heavy front-end damage, at the Valley View Villas apartment complex.
On Wednesday, hospital staff called police to tell them Brinkley had died.
Cordova was arrested by police and booked into jail Friday night.
