KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. — Fourth of July will never be the same for one West Michigan family after a fatal hit-and-run.
Michael Lambert's daughter Alysha was emotional, thinking about her uncle Justin Lambert. "She misses him; he was a big part of her life," Michael told FOX 17.
He says the family was having a fun family cookout before the day ended in tragedy. "Afterwards my brother left on his bike to ride home and was hit just down the road from my brother's house."
Family members tried to give Justin a ride, but he declined the offer.
"We passed him and I just rolled my window down and told him, 'I love you, man.'" Those were Michael's last words to his brother.
According to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office, Justin was hit while riding his bike. It happened near the intersection of Riverview and B Avenue in Cooper Township. Officials responded around 11 p.m.
"As we pulled up to D Avenue, we had to get over for emergency vehicles and something told me right then that something was wrong," Lambert told FOX 17.
His gut feeling was right. "When we got home, shortly after I got a call from my brother, whose house we left from, that he was found dead," he said.
Justin's death comes two years after Lambert's other brother, David, was murdered at Millstreet Market. It's a punch to the gut with no closure to follow.
"It just feels kinda like déjà vu. Everyday that passes it just feels kinda more hopeless to be honest," Michael said.
"I really love and miss Justin a lot," Michael's fiancé, Courtney McClellan, added.
According to Sheriff Richard Fuller, Justin died at the scene. "It’s really important that we find this driver and we talk to them. We have an idea of what the vehicle is."
The suspect vehicle is believed to be a 1998–2004 Ford pickup that has not yet been located.
"We do recognize again that this is out in the country; there are no streetlights, which may or may not have helped in this situation," Fuller told FOX 17.
To help with funeral expenses, the family has started a GoFundMe with a $7,500 goal.
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