Former Florida Track Star Mowed Down Family On Bike Path At Random, Killing Dad, Cops Say

A Florida man, who was once on the cusp of making the U.S. Olympic track team, posted deranged videos online before using his car to mow down and kill a father and injure the man's two sons on their bikes, cops say.

Mikese Morse, 30, had previously only had run-ins with Florida police over minor traffic violations, according to the Tampa Bay Times. But on Sunday, he allegedly did a U-turn across a grassy easement and then aimed his car at the unsuspecting family as they pedaled along a paved bike path. Morse sped up as he allegedly plowed into Pedro Aguerreberry, 42, and his two sons, aged three and eight, witnesses said.

The two sons, who were treated for a broken leg and minor injuries, "essentially watched their father die," Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan told reporters.

Cops initially deduced the attack was intentional from witnesses who saw Morse make the U-turn. When police captured Morse later, he admitted to the attack, Chief Dugan said, but didn’t provide “a complete explanation” for why he allegedly targeted the family.

Instagram posts around the time of Sunday’s savage attack show that Morse was becoming unhinged and ready to commit violence, according to the Times.

Morse was fixated about the devil’s power over him, according to the Times, saying “The universe can end. I do not care.” And finally: "I don’t ever help a man, I’m fittin’ to kill somebody tonight right now."

Morse was a track standout at the University of South Florida and the University of Miami, according to the Times. He was a finalist in the Olympic Trials in 2008 and 2016.

Police believe he had no previous contact with the Aguerreberry family.

At the time of the attack, Aguerreberry was pulling his three-year-old son in a bike trailer. His eight-year-old son pedaled next to them on his own bike.

Witnesses watched Morse drive a red 2008 Dodge sedan across a grass easement and onto the bike path, according to a Tampa police press release.

Morse allegedly fled after striking the family. Cops found him at his parents' house and the vehicle a couple of blocks away.

He is jailed on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and three counts of hit and run.

"What type of person would purposely run over a family that was just bicycling down a bike path?" Dugan said at a Monday news conference. 

Aguerreberry is survived by his kids and his wife Meghan.

[Photo: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office]