Pittsburgh man killed in hit-and-run crash in Florida

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — A Pittsburgh man was killed in a hit-and-run crash while on vacation in Florida.

Surveillance video shows an SUV hitting Charles J. Bofinger, 63, of Pittsburgh as he crossed a street late Friday in Ormond Beach.

Bofinger died at a hospital.

His girlfriend, Deborah Caruso, shared her grief only with Channel 11.

"He was such a good man, he didn't deserve it," Caruso said.

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Caruso describes Bofinger as loving and considerate. She told Channel 11 she hates that this had to happen to him and says it could've been avoided.

"Why didn't I go for that walk?" Caruso said. "Maybe it wouldn't have happened if I went for that walk and now that drunk driver makes me live with that." The Pittsburgh couple was vacationing when Bofinger decided to go for a walk and was hit by a car that did not stop.

"It's devastating, she took my happiness away from me," Caruso said.

According to police, while searching for the vehicle, they received a call from a man saying his girlfriend had been in a car crash. Officers found her SUV with its hood dented and windshield shattered.

Jessica Struthers, 25, thought someone threw something at her car, got scared, and left the scene, according to a police report.

"How do you not know a six-foot man landed on your windshield?" Caruso said. "How do you not know that you hit a man? Don't say that just to try to protect yourself from a hit-and-run."

The Ormond Beach woman was charged with driving under the influence causing death and leaving the scene of a fatal crash. A police report said her blood alcohol level was 0.105, above the 0.08 legal limit.

"It's not worth destroying your life, your family's life and the others. The victim's family, it's not worth it. A drink is not worth it!" Caruso said.

Struthers was held Sunday on $57,500 bond. Volusia County jail records didn't show whether she had an attorney.

While the investigation continues, funeral arrangements are now being made in Bofinger's hometown of Philadelphia.

Cox Media Group