Reward Offered For Leads In Fatal Hit & Run At DU

DENVER (CBS4) - Police hope a reward helps generate new leads in a hit-and-run that killed a graduate student at the University of Denver.

The student was crossing a busy intersection on a bicycle when an SUV raced through a red light. It happened right by the DU campus at Evans and University.

Police have been unable to locate the driver. They say the driver swerved around other vehicles in order to get through the red light. The car just kept on going, depositing the bike a couple blocks away.

Masoud Bahramisharif, 24, came to DU from Iran to earn his PhD in engineering.

"It's something that I thought I would never see in my life," witness Bill Hielscher said.

Hielscher was walking just steps behind Bahramisharif as they crossed the street with the green light when suddenly a car struck the student.

"He was sent flying into the air at least 10 feet off the ground," Hielscher said. "He flew probably 50 feet down the street, slid into a truck that was parked on the side of the road, and that's where I found him."

What was accurately described as a "deathly sound" was heard at Pete's Cafe by a waitress who called 911.

"I said, 'I am an EMT, I'm going out there right now.' And so I hung up the phone and jumped over the fence of the patio and ran across the street," waitress and emergency medical technician Leah Dennison said.

But it was too late. Bahramisharif was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police have issued a $2,000 reward hoping to find what's been described as a maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee with front end damage.

"Even if they get the guy to be honest with you, my friend is gone, he can't be replaced," friend Arash Hajjam said.

There were cameras at the intersection, but they were not recording, so police went looking for others.

Bahramisharif's mother was in Colorado visiting her son at the time of the accident.