She was riding her bike when an SUV hit and killed her. Months later, a man is behind bars
A man has landed behind bars months after a 24-year-old was killed during a hit-and-run while riding her bicycle in Miami, according to police.
Christian Espinal was arrested Tuesday on active warrant dating back to April 27. The 45-year-old is now charged with leaving the scene of a crash with a death and tampering with evidence.
Espinal, who lives in Miami Gardens, is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Wednesday, according to jail records.
His felony charges date back to Oct. 30, when an SUV hit Justine Avenet as she pedaled her bicycle south on Biscayne Boulevard approaching Northeast 22nd Street in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood.
The driver, police say, left without stopping to help Avenet. She died on the street.
Avenet was struck by a dark-colored 2018 to 2021 Nissan Pathfinder, Miami police detective Marvin Lopez told reporters. Through surveillance video from nearby businesses, police tracked where the vehicle ended up near Northeast Miami Court and 15th Street in the days following the hit-and-run.
In November, Corinne Avenet held a photo of her daughter smiling. Her hands trembled as she spoke about her at a Miami police station.
Corinne, Avenet’s mother, pleaded for the driver and any witnesses to come forward. Her husband, Guillaume Avenet, wrapped his arm around her shoulder but remained silent.
READ MORE: ‘Shouldn’t have died that way:’ A mom and dad want answers in Miami hit-and-run tragedy
Avenet, who was a marketing coordinator for Hermès, loved sports, her mother said. Now, her family, including her brothers, are grieving her death.
“This is Justine, our beloved daughter,” Corinne Avenet said. “She came here to work from France. She was a lovely, lovely little girl who was always ready to experience anything. She loved her life here.”
“She shouldn’t have died that way.”
This story was originally published June 21, 2023 at 6:19 PM.
