Witnesses say a Cedar Rapids man died Tuesday afternoon after he was robbed of one-dollar and hit over the head with a pipe. The victim, Jerry Hurt, was 46.
Police responded to a report of a serious assault and found Hurt in the road. He was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he died. The attacker fled on a bicycle. Freddie Coleman is Hurt’s nephew and says he’s stunned by the daylight attack.
Coleman says: "The reason this happened, I just don’t know. I can’t believe it. One of my loved ones is gone and I’ll never see him again." Police says the suspect is a black male, medium height, medium build, late 20’s to early 30’s, wearing a dark shirt and shorts, riding a B-M-X-style bicycle.
While investigators are still looking for a motive, family members said it was over money, even though they said Hurt only had a dollar on him. Cynthia Vaughn is the victim’s sister. Vaughn says, "If it was over a dollar, why? A dollar won’t buy too much of nothing and if it was over a dollar I’d have given him ten."
Police are encouraging witnesses to come forward and call 800-CR-CRIME. If the information leads to an arrest, you may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000. All callers remain anonymous.