Father Sues Hospital Company After Employee Allegedly Kills Cyclist in Hit-and-Run
left inset: Alexander Rozos (Groce Funeral Home and Cremation Service). Right inset: Mauricio roberto Melgar Delgado (Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office). Background: A “ghost bike” memorial set up in Asheville, N.C., where Mauricio Roberto Melgar Delgado allegedly killed cyclist Alexander Rozos in a hit-and-run (Facebook/Andrea Roubal).
A North Carolina father is suing the “largest hospital company in america” after one of its employees allegedly ran over his 26-year-old cyclist son and killed him with a 20,000-pound box truck before fleeing, his lawsuit alleges.
Alexander Rozos was riding his bicycle in Asheville on the 300 block of Swannanoa River Road near South Tunnel Road when Mauricio Roberto Melgar delgado, 48, allegedly crossed through the intersection and struck him in July 2024, according to his father’s legal complaint, which was filed in Buncombe County Superior Court last week.
“Delgado caught up to, struck, and ran over [Rozos],” the complaint says, listing HCA Healthcare and Asheville’s Mission Hospital as defendants, along with Delgado, who is charged with felony hit-and-run inflicting serious injury or death.
“Delgado was an employee, agent or representative of HCA Defendants and Mission Hospital and was acting in the course and scope of his employment or work,” the complaint alleges. “On or about July 18, 2024, defendant Delgado owed duty to the public, including [rozos], to operate his motor vehicle in a careful and prudent manner, to keep proper lookout, to maintain proper control of his vehicle, and to obey the traffic laws of the state of North Carolina.Defendant Delgado breached said duty and was negligent, careless, and reckless.”
Asheville Police said in a press release after the alleged hit-and-run that Delgado was “traveling in the same lane and direction” as Rozos was biking down the road around 11:42 a.m. that Thursday. “The driver of the vehicle left the scene before officers arrived,” the release said. “Rozos succumbed to his injuries while on scene.”
Rozos’ father, Michael rozos, tells the Asheville Citizen
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