San Diego news sites are reporting that an arrest has been made in the hit-and-run death of 18-year old cyclist Angel Bojorquez.
According to 10News, 19-year old San Diego resident Jin Hyuk Byun was arrested Sunday night after a neighbor reported seeing damage to Byun’s 2008 Chevy Avalanche. NBC San Diego reports that he initially refused to cooperate with CHP investigators, but confessed after officers obtained a search warrant and discovered the truck.
Contrary to initial reports, the night Bojorquez was killed was the first time he had attempted the 20-mile bike ride home to Escondido from his job in Del Mar. He was forced to make the ride because he was unable to share his usual drive with his brother, and the buses he would have needed didn’t run that late.
Investigators determined that he was killed approximately one hour before his body was discovered by private security around 2 am — which means Byun ran him down just minutes after Bojorquez was stopped by a sheriff’s deputy.
No word yet on what charges Byun may face.
Let’s hope authorities treat this case with the seriousness it deserves. Any chance Bojorquez may have had to survive his collision was lost when Byun chose to run away like a coward rather than stop and call for help.
Although San Diego courts aren’t exactly known for handing down stiff sentences in cases like this.
Meanwhile, friends and family members are attempting to raise funds to pay for the victim’s funeral.
Maybe Byun’s family could sell that truck to make a sizable contribution.
I’m curious if the sheriff stopped him about not having lights on the bike?
Too bad he didn’t give the kid a ride home or even halfway. I saw the picture view of that route on google maps and in some spots a cyclist has no where to go if a car gets too close.
I don’t think I’d ride that in the day time. Being his first time he probably wasn’t aware how dangerous it could get.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/jul/12/tp-suspect-in-hit-and-run-death-of-bicyclist/
I personally know Byuns family. I agree that he had made a poor choice and deserves to serve prison time but he was a good man. Big brother figure to many friends and was trying to get his life straight by organizing a cothing company.
Your article is written in middle school essay tone and annoys the fuck out of me. Don’t judge a man based on what you copied off from other reporters. Watch your back for cars at night fag
You do know it’s against the law to make a threat over the internet, don’t you? And is this your real email address? I want to make sure I get it right if I feel the need to forward it to the police.
Seems to me the judgement that Buyn is a coward was based on the fact that he confessed to leaving a man dying in the street. And it seems like he keeps the company of cowards if he has friends like you threatening bloggers on the internet. How are we supposed to believe his or your integrity if you are calling people ‘fag’ and spouting threats at them? Oh yeah, you’re doing a whole lot to help his case as a good man by doing that.
And I wouldn’t criticize someone else’s writing if you can’t write one grammatically correct sentence. Why don’t you go troll somewhere else on the internet?
I acknowledge my impudence on the last sentence, couldn’t hold off my irritation from some of the statements and all the libelous comments made on different articles about this case. I intended to correct the human quality inferred by this article, not start this kind of arguments. But I believe its true that the article is written in fairly offending tone to people who have personal connections to the suspect, knowing that he was a good man who made an unwise choice which he shouldn’t had made. Roadblock referred the victim as a youngster; The suspect was only a year order than the victim, I’m sure that the suspect’s action was made out of fear, and panic. All I expect are some respects to my brother figure to the point that people aren’t making presumptive comments. Thanks
Thank you for the correction. However, your friend left another human being to die on the side of the road — I can think of few things more callous and inhumane.
He may be a good friend and an otherwise wonderful human being, but there is no justifying his actions in this case.
I recognize that too. Which is why i stated that i agree that he made a poor choice and deserves prison time.
A coward is a coward. He left a youngster alone to die in the street. He was selfish in THE most heinous way. Disgusting how people really are when it comes down to it.
Y’know what annoys ME, Lee? Idiots too fucking stupid to cloak themselves with, at the bare minimum, a trustworthy proxy server before they engage in illegal activity like criminal threats. Me, I would’ve started out with a virgin hard drive and then routed independent VPN’s through at least several countries with mutually exclusive extradition treaties, but then I don’t need to, because I’m disinclined to engage in middle-school puerility that’ll land me in a cell next to the likes of you or your worthless, craven friend.
I personally know his family too… upright, honest parents who work hard to give their kids what’s good for them even though his mother is a bit unwell. James was an older brother like figure for me and alot of people and is someone that would always be willing to help a friend in need. He had dreams of making it big… and he worked hard himself. It really makes me sad to see ignorant comments and articles that just bash on the ‘killer’ without even knowing what really happened or his side of the story. Granted, regardless of what happened, there is no excuse for the accident, and he should receive consequences accordingly, people, stop it with the bashing comments, he is a good man. What he did.. it could have been any one of you and he did what any scared and inexperienced teenager could have done. It’s wrong, but I could see half the kids I know doing the same thing. He and his family are already going through an incredibly hard time, please don’t make it harder for them. My heart goes out to the Bojorquez family. Stay strong everyone.
Actually, no.
When you say anyone could do what he did, you’re quite wrong. Most people have sufficient human compassion to stop and call for help when they hit another human being. That your friend is accused of leaving another person to die on the side of the street, then tried to hide the evidence of his crime, says far more than all the words you have written.
Simply put, a “good man” would not, could not, commit such a heinous act. If you can truly imagine half the kids you know doing the same thing, you desperately need to get new friends; I honestly cannot imagine anyone I know doing something like that. And wouldn’t want to know them if I could.
As for your friend, sorry, but my sympathy goes to the victim and his family, not the man accused of killing him. The Byun family still have their son; the Bojorquez family will never see theirs again, at least not in this lifetime.
Both situations may be tragic, but one doesn’t begin to compare with the other.
If he knew he hit a person and left him on the streets to die, yes that is inhumane and most people would not even think of doing that. And I read no information anywhere that says he tried to hide evidence…However, Byun stated that he thought he hit a mailbox or a deer and didn’t really stop to check. It sounds hard to believe, but noone knows the truth but him. We don’t know the circumstances, his motives, reasons, excuses- whatever that may be. Guess you can call it benefit of the doubt when we don’t know even half the story.
Im not saying people I know personally would do that… but just imagine the situation…. a kid driving home alone at night…he may have dozed off or looked somewhere else or sneezed or whatever and he felt himself hit something. I can imagine a 19 year old just making the (0.0) face and driving away…hoping he hit the curb or a pole or something. Its called immaturity, lack of responsibility and perhaps cowardice. But I don’t think he deserves to be called a killer or have comments saying he should get maximum punishment.
As a side note, the victim died upon impact. Him pulling over and calling for help would not have made a difference in the victim’s life, although that would have showed some humanity on byun’s side and respect for the other person.
But… despite my fidelity to my friend, if we assume the worst case scenario and he did, like you said knew he hit a person and left him to die and hid evidence… then I can say no more as Im truely dissapointed and shocked. It’s just… hard to believe you know?
And of course, we are all praying for the victim’s family.
Actually, the news reports indicate that Byun pulled over following the collision to push his headlight assembly back into place, then drove home on a bare wheel — and kept his truck hidden in the garage for days afterwards.
And trust me, if anyone were to hit someone hard enough to kill them on impact, they would know they did it. As for whether Bojorquez could have been saved, we’ll never know, since no one gave him the chance by calling 911.
I do understand that it’s hard to believe your friend could have done something like this. But as long as we continue to excuse the inexcusable, innocent people will continue to die on our streets, while their killers continue to run away in an attempt to get away with it.
By all means, be there for your friend and his family. Give them whatever support you think is appropriate. But never, ever try to excuse his actions, or forget who the real victims are.
http://www.facebook.com/angel.bojorquez1
facebook of the victim