Reward offered in hit and run involving missing child

An 11-year-old boy reported missing on Friday was fatally struck in a hit-and-run over the weekend, according to Tampa Police.

Detectives said they started searching for Alexander Torres when he failed to ride his bike home from his school, Davis Elementary, on time Friday afternoon. His family told police he had gotten in trouble in class, and was reprimanded by his mother over the phone.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said he left the campus on his bicycle around 2:45 p.m. But Friday night, deputies had yet to find him during a helicopter and ground search near his school and his home in Town 'N' Country.

It wasn't until after 2:30 a.m. Saturday that police found him. They'd received a call from someone reporting a vehicle vs. pedestrian crash on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa. Officers arrived to find Torres laying in the roadway. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

"When officers arrived on scene, they found a bike not too far from where the crash occurred, however, the bike was not involved in the crash," said Janelle McGregor, spokesperson for the Tampa Police Department.

Investigators are not sure why Torres parked his bike and attempted to walk across the bridge.

Torres' neighbors who live on Dalwood Court said they sympathize with the family.

"I can't imagine the world of turmoil and pain that they're going through right now. It must be really hard," said Felix Castro, a next door neighbor who often saw Torres riding his bike around the neighborhood.

The crash was approximately 10 miles from the boy's school. The vehicle that hit Torres, a Nissan Altima, fled the scene.

Police said the Altima is believed to be a metallic or a gun metal color, possibly a 2005 or 2006 model.

Crimestoppers of Tampa Bay is offering a $3,000 reward for help locating the driver. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 800-873-8477.

Meanwhile, as Torres' peers return to school Monday, faculty says grief counselors will be on hand for students struggling with the loss of their classmate.

FOX 13 will continue with updates on this developing story.