TAMPA, Fla. — A vigil was held Thursday night for Darrell Lawson, 57, who died after being hit by a car while riding his bike earlier this week. Tampa Police are still looking for the driver, who fled the scene.

What You Need To Know

  • Around 40 people gathered at a candlelight vigil in honor of Darrell Lawson Thursday night

  • Lawson, 57, died after a car hit him while he rode his bicycle Tuesday night

  • Tampa Police are still looking for the driver of that car, who fled the scene

  • Family and police ask the person responsible to come forward

"You could've stopped to see was he OK," said Lawson's twin sister, Darlene Lawson. "But a person that does that, to me, don't have no heart."

Darrell Lawson's wife, Valarie Miller Lawson, said her husband rode his bicycle every day, and that he was even on a bike when the two met more than 14 years ago. She said that's how he was getting to the store to run an errand for a neighbor when he was struck around 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday.

Around 40 people gathered to pray, sing and share memories near the spot where Lawson was hit in the 1900 block of E. 21st Ave.

"We got up, like, 4 in the morning and get on the phone — talk, laugh and joke like that, you know," said Darrell Lawson's other sister, Linda Lawson. "If he don't call me, I call him. We tease a lot. I really love him, and I'm going to miss him."

Darrell Lawson leaves behind children and stepchildren, grandkids and great-grandkids. Loved ones said he was the life of the party but also a hard worker who would come home from his job in food prep at Longhorn Steakhouse and jump right into a project around the house. Family said it's been hard to process that someone ran into him and left the scene.

"It just don't make no sense to me," said another sister, Cheryl Lawson Williams. "You need to just turn yourself in. Whoever you are, you just left him like he was just nothing, like he was just a dog."

Family and police are asking the person responsible to come forward and for anyone with information to contact law enforcement. Tampa Police Department officials said the car involved may be a light blue, gray or silver sedan. They want people who live in the area to check any cameras they have to see if they captured something that could help solve the case. 

Valarie Miller Lawson said more family members are expected to arrive in Tampa Bay Friday, and a larger gathering is being planned for the same spot near the crash site at 8 p.m. to keep attention on the case.

Anyone with information can call TPD at 1-813-276-3255 or Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay at 1-800-873-TIPS (8477).