CORAL GABLES, Fla. (Feb. 26, 2015) – Coral Gables-based law firm Colson Hicks Eidson filed a wrongful death complaint in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County today on behalf of Maribel Reyes, the widow of Walter Reyes, and her two daughters against Defendants Alejandro Alvarez and Rodrigo Alvarez.
According to the complaint, after spending hours drinking at a night club on South Beach, Alejandro Alvarez, 21, negligently operated a motor vehicle, owned by his father Rodrigo Alvarez, when he struck cyclist Walter Reyes and his riding companion on Crandon Boulevard in Key Biscayne around 5:22 a.m. on January 21st, 2015. Reyes was riding in a marked bicycle lane with a helmet on when he was struck from behind by a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta driven by Alvarez. With a smashed windshield, Alvarez fled the scene and continued to his parents’ home in Key Biscayne where he attempted to smash another window with a golf club in an effort to make it look like a robbery. Alvarez later returned to the scene of the collision and admitted to hitting the cyclists. Reyes died on the scene as a result of multiple catastrophic injuries caused by the accident. His riding companion was also severely injured.
“Through this lawsuit we seek to hold Mr. Alvarez accountable for the outrageous conduct which resulted in Walter Reyes’ tragic and unnecessary death,” said Lewis S. “Mike” Eidson, counsel for Reyes. “Additionally, and of equal importance, we hope the publicity surrounding this incident brings awareness to the urgency to combat drunk driving in our community and prompts action for increased safety measures for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists. Too many innocent lives have been taken and this type of reprehensible conduct cannot be tolerated.”
Reyes, 51, a devoted husband and father of two, is the third cyclist to die in a hit-and-run on the road to Key Biscayne in five years. According to police, all three fatalities occurred early in the morning and each cyclist was riding legally in designated marked bike lanes when they were stuck from behind.
The complaint alleges motor vehicle negligence and is seeking damages for loss of support, loss of companionship and protection, mental pain and suffering, loss of parental companionship, loss of earnings and medical and funeral expenses.
# # #
About Lewis S. “Mike” Eidson:
Eidson, founding partner at Colson Hicks Eidson, is a nationally recognized trial attorney and former president of the American Association for Justice, the world’s leading trial bar. He has tried more than 120 jury trials for significant personal injury and wrongful death as well as multiple multi-million dollar cases to verdict and settlement.
About Colson Hicks Eidson:
The Law Firm of Colson Hicks Eidson is a trial firm with more than 40 years of experience handling local, national and international litigation. Partners at the firm have had the distinction of holding the following offices: President of the 60,000-member American Association for Justice; President of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers; President of the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers; President of the Dade County Bar Association; President of the Miami-Dade Florida Association of Women Lawyers; United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Chairman of the Florida Federal Judicial Nominating Commission. For more information, call 305-476-7400.