The friend of a hospitalized hit-and-run victim in Wilton Manors, Florida says he believes that 31-year-old Tommy Davis was targeted by a driver because he is gay.
The hit-and-run occurred on September 18 outside of the Ramrod bar where Davis works as a bartender, WPLG Miami reports:
“It was shortly after 10 p.m. Sept. 18 when Davis was crossing Northeast Fourth Avenue to return to work. [Davis’ friend Marcus] Hopkins said Davis got halfway into the right lane when Davis, he and another friend heard an engine rev. Hopkins said Davis ran, but before he could get away, the car swerved onto the sidewalk and hit him. ‘When he hit the windshield, he bounced off the car and hit the dirt,’ said Hopkins. The driver of the car then swerved back onto the road and kept going. Hopkins believes the incident might have been a hate crime.”
Davis remains on a ventilator at in the ICU at Broward General Medical Center. The Ramrod is reportedly holding a fundraiser tonight to help pay for Davis’ medical expenses.
Wilton Manors is adjacent to Fort Lauderdale.