St. Paul police on Sunday afternoon announced that they have arrested two people in the hit-and-run death of Jose Hernandez Solano, a beloved employee at Brasa Rotisserie who was biking home from work when he was hit late last month.
Just hours earlier, more than 50 bicyclists gathered at Brasa on Grand Avenue in St. Paul for a ride in memory of Hernandez Solano, who died Dec. 7 at Regions Hospital.
Although the arrests were made Friday and Saturday, the riders hadn't heard the news when they began the 1.4-mile trek to Grand and W. 7th Street, where Hernandez Solano was hit shortly after midnight on Nov. 26.
Police said a 28-year-old St. Paul man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide. A 47-year-old South St. Paul woman, the registered owner of the vehicle, was arrested Friday on suspicion of aiding an offender. The Star Tribune generally does not name suspects before they are charged.
Some of the riders Sunday knew Hernandez Solano, while others simply wanted to honor the man they'd learned of only in the past three weeks.
"Look at all these beautiful people," said David Fernandez, a friend and co-worker of Hernandez. "I'm pretty sure my friend Jose would be pretty happy right now."
Fernandez said he and Hernandez Solano biked every day; a favorite route was along the Mississippi, where they'd sit on a bench and talk about life, family and bikes.
Hernandez, 52, had lived in the United States, working to support his family in Mexico, for about 17 years. He'd worked at Brasa for about a year.