March 28, 2024

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TikTok star Leonardo Gil Dies in Florida Hit-And-Run

Rising TikTok star Leonardo Gil died on last week on Tuesday, January 25 after he was struck and killed in a hit and run accident. He was 34.

Gil, an endoscopy technician at Hialeah Hospital, was struck by a dark-colored SUV or van at the intersection of East 8th Avenue and 21st Street around 9:30 p.m., NBC Miami reported. He had finished his shift at the hospital and was riding his motorcycle when the accident, which was caught on camera, occurred.

In surveillance video released by the police, the vehicle could be seen making a left turn at an intersection before it was hit by Gil’s motorcycle. The driver of the vehicle stopped, but eventually fled the scene.

Hialeah Police Lt. Eduardo Rodriguez told NBC Miami that the video “shows that Mr. Gil, he was traveling southbound, he had the right of way when this vehicle turned out right in front of him, didn’t give him an opportunity to even attempt to stop.”

Rodriguez said that because the vehicle appeared to stop, the driver “could be facing some very serious charges.”

Gil’s family said that he had only recently acquired the motorcycle.

“Our family right now is just devastated. He only had his motorcycle for like three months, he never had a motorcycle before,” Gil’s niece, Delia Acosta, said. “We are just devastated because you never expect something like this to happen.”

Colleagues are also mourning the loss of Gil, holding a vigil for him at the hospital last week on Thursday. One of his colleagues, Shirley Adkins, remembered him for his work ethic and rising through the ranks over the years, adding, “He has just worked so hard, and then touched everybody through those areas.

Gil had amassed nearly 200,000 followers on his popular TikTok account, where he often shared videos from the hospital for his followers. 

A GoFundMe page set up to cover funeral and memorial costs said that Gil got his start at the hospital more than a decade ago when he immigrated from Cuba. He started as a janitor, eventually becoming a patient transporter and later, an endoscopy technician.

An investigation is still underway. Police are looking for a vehicle that match the description from the video that have damage done to the right side.

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