The bicyclist who died when he was
struck by a hit-and-run driver on Staten Island Sunday night
has been identified as (R.J.) Tillman, a 29-year-old student who had just moved to the borough from Brooklyn to be closer to the school where he was studying nursing.
Tillman was wearing a Wagner College sweatshirt and had a textbook in his backpack when he was found. His family
he had recently moved to Staten Island be closer to the school he transferred to from Brooklyn College, where had been studying film production.
Tillman's family said he was returning from the library, where he had been studying for a big exam, when he was hit. The driver drove off, leaving the aspiring health professional on the side of the road to die.
Local
Police are still looking for the black SUV or pickup truck they believe was involved in the incident. His family pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.
“We’re just still in shock,” Tillman's aunt, Joan Snihur, told the News. "Anything that anybody can do to help find the driver ... His mother’s just heartbroken that he died alone and nobody stopped to see if he was okay or not."
Authorities say Tillman was riding eastbound on Howard Avenue in the westbound lane when he was struck. Officials said the force of the crash knocked off one of his sneakers.
He was later pronounced dead at Richmond University Medical Center.
“Identifying the driver's not going to bring him back, but we still can’t understand how somebody could do that,” Snihur told the News.
