Police: Suspect in fatal hit and run threatened to kill officer's family

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The man charged in the fatal hit and run of a 69-year-old victim was back in court Monday.

Video shows the moment 69-year-old Gerard Kuras was hit by a pickup truck allegedly driven by Cesar Reyes-Euceda. FOX 2 is not showing the moment Kuras was struck/

A witness testified that he saw it happen.

Prosecutor: "What did you see the pedestrian do?"

"He flew up into the air," the witness said.

Prosecutors say Euceda, 28, hit Kuras at Michigan Avenue and Parkinson Street in early December and kept going. When cops caught up to the truck. they say the people inside were belligerent.

"He was calling them a (expletive)," said Officer Tabitha Sears, Detroit police. "(He was) telling them that he was going to kill his family and to shut the (expletive) up."

The defense pushing back against what the witness saw and when including whether Euceda ran a red light.

"You told us that the truck was traveling down Parkinson slash Seagull," said Gabi Silver, the defense attorney. "And you said it ran a light. I am assuming when you say it ran a light, you mean it ran a red light, right?"

Reyes Euceda is charged with operating with license suspended/revoked/denied causing death. He's also charged with not stopping at the scene of an accident - when at fault - resulting in death.

The preliminary exam is expected to pick back up Feb.21.
 

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