PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The cyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in West Philadelphia over the weekend has been identified as a longtime employee and DJ at a popular South Street bar.
June Rodriguez, 54, was a fixture at Bob and Barbara’s Lounge for decades, according to a social media post from the business. He had been a DJ there, greeted patrons, covered barback shifts, and, more recently, worked as a bartender.
“A June of all trades, he was gracious and willing to do whatever he could for this bar and all that crossed his path. He will be very missed and forever loved,” the lounge wrote on social media.
Rodriguez was biking home from work around 3:45 a.m. Saturday. While turning left at the intersection of 56th Street and Lancaster Avenue, a driver in an SUV struck Rodriguez from behind and kept going, police said.
Rodriguez died at the hospital from his injuries.
“Everybody loved him, and to see him go like this, it’s very tragic,” coworker James Thomas told NBC10. “I just hope, whoever did it, please come forth.”
Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a friend of Rodriguez’s, posted a video on social media asking for the public’s help in finding the driver responsible.
“June knew how to lighten every room he walked into. He treated people with a kindness that we could only hope to see matched around this world,” Kenyatta said.
The driver was in a red SUV, possibly a Jeep Grand Cherokee, police said.
Rodriguez is the seventh cyclist to be killed by a driver this year in Philadelphia, according to the organization Philly Bike Action. The group is continuing to call on the city to do more to protect cyclists and pedestrians on Lancaster Avenue.
A 77-year-old woman who was walking in the evening was killed in a hit-and-run in September, just two blocks away from the site of Saturday’s deadly crash.