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Family Mourns Fairfield Motorcyclist Killed In I-80 Hit-And-Run Crash

FAIRFIELD (CBS13) — A big rig driver was found after a deadly hit-and-run claimed the life of a Fairfield man on Monday.

The crash happened the in the Bay Area on westbound Interstate 80, Monday morning.

The California Highway Patrol says the big-rig driver struck and killed a motorcyclist from Fairfield.

The family has identified the motorcyclist as 35-year old Nicholas Brown.

Brown was a father figure and a mentor to many in the Fairfield community. A memorial set up in his honor represents the lives he has touched, who, now, can only hang on to memories.

"There's nobody like him here, he just had an infectious smile, and he just was there for everybody I don't know how he did it, said Benita Brown, the victim's mother.

She tried to keep her composure Wednesday afternoon, 48 hours after her son's death. She describes Nick as a family man who had the biggest heart—his daughter and son—the center of his world.

"He really adored them that was Bella's prom, he was so proud," Brown pointed out.

Nick also loved to ride his motorcycle. He was riding his bike to work in the Bay Area Monday morning when a big rig crashed into him and kept going. Nick didn't make it.

Nick had been a father to Izabella Rios, and a mentor, since she was 9 years old.

"He came into my life and gratefully and happily accepted the role as my father. I'm gonna always be thankful for him," she cried.

Izabella says Nick was always her biggest fan their bond was unbreakable.

"No matter what I did, he was always there to protect me and cover for me. Anything I needed he was there," Izabella said.

Although Nick and his children's mother didn't always see eye-to-eye, she says he was the best thing that could have happened to her family.

"He was the first person that I would call about any exciting news about our family," she said tearfully.

Nick's legacy is now in the hands of 10-year old Nick Jr., who keeps hoping his father will walk through the front door one day.

"I love you, and I think about you all the time," he said.

The CHP says the driver of that big rig is cooperating with investigators.

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