Pinellas County Deputy killed in a hit-and-run

LARGO, Fla. (Tampa Bay Now) – The Tampa Bay community is mourning the loss of a Pinellas County Deputy.

51-year-old Patrol Deputy, Michael Hartwick, was hit and killed by a front loader at a construction site late Thursday night.

“We will never forget Mike. And never forget his service. There’s no words. There’s no words,” said Bob Gualtieri, Pinellas County Sheriff.

People all over the Tampa Bay Area are remembering 51-year-old Patrol Deputy, Michael Hartwick.

“Never did I see him in a mood that wasn’t happy,” said a friend of Hartwick, George Willis.

Officials say Deputy Hartwick was assigned to traffic details at a construction site Thursday night near Roosevelet Boulevard and I-275 North.

Sheriff Gualtieri says while Hartwick was out of his car, a construction worker operating a forklift was driving by at about 20 miles per hour and hit and killed Deputy Hartwick.

“He told another construction worker that he had just killed a deputy, and took off his hat and took off his vest, traffic vest. Handed it to him, told him to hide it. Get rid of it,” said Sheriff Gualtieri.

Sheriff Gualtieri says that’s when the suspect fled on foot and a 9-hour manhunt began.

“It involved virtually every single one of our canines, three helicopters, and hundreds of law enforcement officers trying to find this guy,” said Sheriff Gualtieri.

Once deputies found the suspect, Sheriff Gualtieri says the suspect gave them a fake ID and name of Victor Vazquez Real…and later learned that his real name is Juan Ariel Molina-Salles from Honduras.

Officials say he came into the United States illegally from Mexico. Sheriff Gualtieri also says several other employees working for the construction company, Archer Western, were undocumented and had fake ID’s.

“They were hindering the investigation, not giving us answers to questions we needed,” said Sheriff Gualtieri.

Now, just 19 months after the death of Pinellas County Officer, Michael Magli, another brother in the force will be laid to rest.

“Mike Hartwick was an officer out there doing his job. He dedicated his 19 years to protecting the people of Pinellas County and he shouldn’t have died this way,” said Sheriff Gualtieri.

“It’s a very hard loss, a very hard loss. It’s a loss for everybody,” said Willis.