A San Diego man is grieving over the sudden death of his roommate who was killed in a hit and run crash in Hillcrest while walking his dog.
Rudy Delgado not only lost his friend of 15 years, but was in the hospital himself when he heard the devastating news.
On Sunday at around 7 p.m., Delgado’s roommate, identified as 35-year-old Aaron Voorhies, was walking along the 1000-block of University Avenue between Vermont Street and 10th Avenue when he was fatally struck by a black pickup truck.
The truck failed to stop and continued driving eastbound on University Avenue.
At the time, Voorhies was walking Delgado’s Chihuahua mix, “Minnie.” The dog survived the collision but Vorhies did not. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital a short time later.
Delgado heard about the hit and run on the news when he saw a photo of Minnie on NBC 7.
In an emotional, exclusive interview Tuesday, Delgado told NBC 7 that losing his longtime friend is extremely difficult. He said Voorhies was taking care of Minnie for him while he was at the hospital.
“It’s hard to wake up this morning and know that your friend is not there anymore,” he said. “To go out there and know that his bed’s not slept in and then my dog wasn’t there, so, you know, it’s been a rough couple hours.”
Now out of the hospital, Delgado went to the San Diego County Animal Shelter Tuesday morning in hopes of being reunited with his dog, Minnie.
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However, the reunion will have to wait a little while.
Delgado found out that Minnie is currently in the care of a foster home. The home has been asked to return the dog to Delgado, which should happen soon.
In the meantime, police are still searching for the driver involved in the deadly hit and run crash. Investigators believe the truck is a four-wheel drive vehicle that may have sustained some front-end damage. Witnesses said there was a passenger in the truck at the time of the collision.
