Friends of bicyclist killed in Middleburg hit-and-run ask for public’s help identifying the driver

MIDDLEBURG, Fla. — The Florida Highway Patrol is asking for the public’s help identifying the driver behind the wheel in a fatal hit-and-run in Clay County over the weekend.

Friends have since identified the victim as 45-year-old Richard Humphries.

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“(It) makes me mad. It makes me sad. It makes me lonely,” Humphries’ friend Loretta Knappenberger said.

She feels a range of emotions thinking about the driver who hit and killed her friend and then drove off.

“I want the driver in the car and I want the driver to go to jail, whatever it takes,” Knappenberger said.

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Action News Jax first told you Saturday night when a car hit a bicyclist on North Mimosa Avenue in Middleburg.

Knappenberger said Humphries was headed to the store for her. She knew something was wrong when she never heard back from him.

“There (were) cops down the road and they got the whole road blocked off, and I knew instantly that it was Richard,” Knappenberger said.

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FHP said he was hit in the right lane. Troopers were back out at the scene on Monday continuing their investigation.

They are asking for the public’s help finding the 2001-2004 PT Cruiser involved in the crash. They said the car should have right front and hood damage as well as a missing right headlight.

Knappenberger said she’s been canvassing the neighborhood for the car.

“I went door to door. I’m offering cash. Anybody I see, I’m asking if they’ve seen a PT Cruiser,” Knappenberger said.

Family friend Dawn Helm also posted to social media asking for any information on the driver.

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“I just hope that we find this person that is responsible for it,” Helm said.

Both of them remember Humphries as a supportive, loving friend.

“I didn’t want him to lay on the side of the road alone because he wasn’t alone. He has family, we love him very much,” Knappenberger said.

FHP said it believes the driver is local. Anyone with information is asked to call FHP or Crimestoppers.

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