"It's just horrible:" 45-year-old man dies after he's struck by vehicle on Christmas; driver in custody

RACINE (WITI) -- Racine police say a 45-year-old man was killed Thursday night, December 25th when he was struck by a vehicle as he was leaving a holiday party. The driver of the striking vehicle took off after it happened, but he has since been taken into custody.

Police say Robert Castaneda was struck while walking in the area of Romayne Avenue and Lasalle Street just before 9:30 p.m.

"It's just horrible. Something I really didn't want to see. I just seen him get hit and just flew over the roof over the car and flew in the air and just landed on the concrete in the middle of the street. As soon as I seen it I just started crying and I just had to walk away and I didn`t want to see any more of it," 18-year-old Angelica Chones said.

When crews arrived on scene, they located Castaneda lying in the roadway suffering from severe injuries. Rescue crews arrived and transported Castaneda to the hospital. He later died.

Chones says Castaneda is her cousin. She says he was leaving a family Christmas party when he was hit.

"I saw the car coming and I looked and I seen him walking and I thought he was going to back up quickly and he just got hit," witness Morgan Fox said.

Bradley Hayek

Police say the striking vehicle's driver is 31-year-old Bradley Hayek. He was located a few blocks from the accident scene and was taken into custody. He was arrested for hit-and-run resulting in death, homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle, felony bail jumping and misdemeanor bail jumping.

Hayek appeared in court on Friday, December 26th. A court commissioner set bond at $50,000.

"The fact that he is out on bail on a felony drug case, charged with possession with attempt to deliver marijuana..." the court commissioner said in court on Friday.

As a condition of his bail, the court commissioner ordered Hayek to wear a "scram bracelet," which monitors the amount of alcohol he consumes.

Official charges against him are still pending.

He's due back in court next week.

Racine police traffic investigators are interested in any additional information that you may have about this incident. If you witnessed the accident or have any information regarding the accident, you are urged to call Traffic Investigator Nudo at 262-635-7828. You may also contact Crimestoppers at 262-636-9330, or by texting RACS plus the message to CRIMES (274637) and referring to Tipsoft I.D. #TIP417 with your text message.