Help Carl Vargas Heal and Find Justice

On July 14th, 2024, at 12:37am, Carl Vargas was struck while driving his motorcycle, by a stolen car traveling at roughly 60 mph; he was 8 blocks from making it home safely.

Fortunately, he was wearing his helmet and there were a few good samaritans that moved into action as soon as it happened. They secured the scene by using their cars to block any oncoming traffic and immediately called the authorities. Emergency responders arrived at the scene about 5 minutes after the time of impact, and Carl was admitted to HCMC.

Carl survived with several injuries, including massive head trauma, broken bones in his right ankle and foot, an amputated toe and road rash that covered his body. In addition to being a victim of a hit-and-run, a bystander walked up to the scene as a concerned citizen and stole Carl's backpack containing his phone and wallet with his ID and bank cards.

According to surveillance records, Carl was struck by two suspects in a stolen vehicle, speeding down 7th Street in Downtown Minneapolis when they hit Carl. After impact, the airbags went off and the stolen vehicle disengaged, preventing the thieves from driving any further. As the car came to a halt, a second car, an SUV, that was tailing the Camaro pulled up alongside the car; the suspects entered and then fled the scene down 7th Street.

It has been over week, and we have not been contacted by Minneapolis PD and are told that Carl's case has not been assigned to an investigator yet. Our family was not offered any information on the accident. Details regarding it being a hit-and-run were learned a few days later, when we went to obtain a public records report.

Also, after canvassing 7th Street, we received security footage of what happened that night and were confronted with what was a worse situation than we initially thought happened. Consequently, in hit and run cases, there is no one to hold immediately accountable. As a result, the victim is repeatedly victimized through the legal and healing processes. We pray and hope that there will be a notable and visible difference in the response received and timely follow up on active investigations.

Carl is a vibrant and passionate 26 year old man, who had wrapped up his first year at Dunwoody and was excited about his new job as a machinist at Lane Company. Carl had been enthusiastic about life, as he was also moving into a cool, downtown apartment with his dog, Charlotte. Carl had just got his first Harley Davidson motorcycle and was proud to have completed his safety course. Everything was looking up until tragedy struck.

Carl will be unable to work for an unknown amount of time, and on top of the current medical expenses and future physical therapy, he will have his every day expenses including rent, insurance, and Charlotte to take care of.

Our family is asking for help, as we fully anticipate not only the long journey into physical and mental recovery for Carl, but also the legal fight we are fully prepared to see through to the end. Our family is determined to bring closure and justice to Carl's offenders.

If you have any information or can be of any assistance, please reach to:

[email redacted]