Nearly a year after a hit-and-run driver killed Baton Rouge cyclist Aaron Augustus Jr. and left him in the grass near the Mohican-Prescott crossover, no one has been arrested and no witness has come forward with information about who was behind the wheel. Crime Stoppers is now offering up to $5,000 for information that identifies those involved.
Augustus, 30, was riding his bike along Mohican-Prescott around 9:38 p.m. on a Saturday when a car heading toward Beechwood Drive struck him, according to WBRZ. The station reported that the driver and a passenger stopped briefly after the crash but then drove away without rendering aid or calling 911. WAFB reports the crash happened near the Prescott and Mohican crossover in December 2025, and that Augustus was found in the grass where Mohican crossing meets Prescott.
A 911 witness, Jonny Dunnam, said the driver and passenger stopped but left without helping, and told WAFB that cyclists have the same right to use that portion of the road. The same report notes that the crossover has no designated bike lane, a detail Augustus's father has pointed to as he pushes the city for change.
A Father's Daily Reminder
Aaron Augustus Sr. passes the crash site every day, per the WAFB report, and has contacted Councilman Darryl Hurst and staff members for Councilwoman Twahna Harris in hopes of improving lighting and road safety for pedestrians and cyclists in the area. He said road safety improvements should help everyone in high-traffic areas where people bike or walk, according to the same account.
He described his son as someone people wanted to be around, the report notes. Augustus had returned to school to study drafting, helped his father with his lawn business, and spent much of his free time riding his bike, according to WAFB's reporting on the family.
Part of a Troubling Regional Pattern
The case fits into a wider trend across the capital region. WBRZ reported that fatal or severe crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists in 2026 outpaced the same period the previous year, citing LSU's Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety. That data also ranks East Baton Rouge Parish second only to Orleans Parish in pedestrian and bicyclist crash deaths in 2025.
WBRZ's review found that six Baton Rouge roads each saw at least one pedestrian or bicyclist hit by a car and either injured or killed in the preceding four months. One of those cases involved cyclist and pedestrian Cassieanna Dorsey, struck on College Drive in May by a driver who was never caught, the station reported. Nationally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recorded more than 7,000 pedestrian deaths and more than 70,000 injuries in traffic crashes in 2024, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has tracked a 72 percent increase in pedestrian deaths from motor-vehicle crashes since 2009, per WBRZ.
Other Baton Rouge Streets Have Seen Changes
Other recent crashes have already prompted action elsewhere in the area. After 21-year-old Leah Victoria Fonte and her fiancé, 21-year-old Shane David Hirstius, were struck and killed while walking on Nicholson Drive on Oct. 18, the speed limit between Bob Pettit Boulevard and Brightside Drive was lowered from 45 mph to 35 mph, effective that Wednesday, according to FOX 8. Officials from LSU, the state Department of Transportation and Development, and the City of Baton Rouge have since discussed a shared-use path, additional lighting and improved pedestrian crossings for that corridor, the station reported.
No such upgrades have been confirmed for the Mohican-Prescott crossover where Augustus was killed. Under Louisiana law, a person riding a bicycle on a state highway generally holds the same rights and duties as a vehicle driver, with certain exceptions spelled out in the statute, according to the Louisiana State Legislature.
How to Help Solve the Case
Anyone with information about the driver or passenger involved in Augustus's death is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 344-STOP. Tips can be submitted anonymously, and callers may be eligible for the reward now being offered for information that leads to identifying those responsible.
