Boy Riding Bike Struck, Killed in NJ Hit-Run: Police

A 16-year-old boy riding his bicycle in Paterson, New Jersey, was struck and killed by a fleeing driver, police say. 

The boy, identified by relatives as Javier Burgos, was riding his bike near Oak and Beech streets, about 5 minutes away from his home, at about 6:45 p.m. Monday when he was hit by the vehicle. 

The driver fled the scene, but police said Tuesday they have identified the suspect and recovered the vehicle. An arrest has not yet been made. 

"The family is in our thoughts and prayers, and the mayor, department and city feel and share in their pain and grief," Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale said in a statement. 

Burgos' heartbroken mother told NBC 4 sister station Telemundo-47 she was still in shock. 

"I don't believe this," she said in Spanish. "I still can't believe it." 

Burgos' aunt, Natalia Quiles, said the boy was a "good, working child."

He was a "very good child and now he's gone," Quiles said, sobbing.

She added of the driver: "He's a coward for not stopping. He was only 16. Anybody would stop."

Burgos would have turned 17 years old on Aug. 22, his family said. 

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