Motorcyclist kills his passenger after performing wheelie, Miami police say

A motorcyclist is accused of driving recklessly and performing a wheelie, causing his passenger to fall onto the road before he left them behind, according to the Miami Police Department.

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On Thursday afternoon, Vito Cacciapaglia was riding a 2019 black Kawasaki motorcycle west on Northeast 54th Street, an arrest affidavit said.

Cacciapaglia popped a wheelie and lost control of the motorcycle, throwing himself and his passenger onto the road, the affidavit said. The motorcycle kept sliding across the road and crashed with the front of a white 2026 BMW X5.

The driver left on foot while the passenger, who was not identified, was left behind in critical condition, the affidavit said. They died at the hospital less than an hour later.

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Investigators went to Cacciapaglia’s home and spoke with his roommate, who told authorities that Cacciapaglia came back with injuries on the right side of his body and “appeared to be in an altered state of mind,” the affidavit said. Then, they went to the hospital to locate him.

Cacciapaglia refused to speak with authorities, the affidavit said, and he was arrested Friday on charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving death and vehicular homicide in a reckless manner.

He was being held on a $100,000 bond Monday at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, jail records show. Cacciapaglia’s public defender didn’t respond to a request for comment.

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This story was originally published August 31, 2026 at 7:32 PM.