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Miami man, 24, killed after punch sends him into traffic

DAVIE - An altercation in a casino parking lot escalated into road rage and ended with a man killed in a hit-and-run accident, officials said.

Julio Cesar Roqueta Reyes, 24, of Miami died early Sunday when he was knocked into traffic and struck by a vehicle in Davie, police spokesman Bill Bamford said.

Roqueta became involved in a dispute about 4 a.m. with another man over cars in the parking lot of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, police said.

Both men got in their own vehicles and continued hurling insults at each other as they drove north toward Davie. At an intersection the two got out of their cars and began fighting. Roqueta was punched in the face, knocking him into traffic, Bamford said.

"This kid hit Roqueta right in the mouth," Bamford said. "He lost his balance, fell backward, and the car hit him in the headlight area."

Police said Roqueta was killed instantly, and the driver of the vehicle that struck him never stopped. Bamford said the man who punched Roqueta fled, too, but was soon apprehended. His identity had not been released Monday. It was not known if he would be charged with a crime, Bamford said.

Family and friends said Roqueta was obsessed with technology and engineering. He and friends formed a team to compete on the television show BattleBots, which features remote-controlled robots battling each other.

[Last modified June 21, 2005, 04:56:49]