This seems like a good law school exam question:

DAVIE, Fla. -- An altercation in a casino parking lot escalated into road rage and ended with a man killed in a hit-and-run accident, officials said.

Julio Cesar Roqueta Reyes, 24, of Miami, died early Sunday morning when he was knocked into traffic and struck by a vehicle at a Davie intersection, police spokesman Bill Bamford said.

Roqueta became involved in a heated dispute around 4 a.m. with another man over Roqueta's souped-up Dodge Neon in the parking lot of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, police said.

Both men got in their own vehicles and continued hurling insults at each other as they drove north toward Davie, police said.

At the intersection of State Road 7 and Griffin Road in Davie, both men got out of their cars and began fighting. Roqueta was punched in the face, knocking him into northbound traffic, Bamford said.

Police said Roqueta was killed instantly, and the driver of the vehicle that stuck him never stopped.

Bamford said the man who punched Roqueta fled after the incident, but was soon apprehended. Police did not release his identity Sunday night. It was not known if he would be charged with a crime, Bamford said.

Then there's the duty to stop and render assistance after you hit someone. Depending on the circumstances, this could get you killed. If I saw a fight in progress, I'd be inclined to drive to the nearest police station instead of stopping at the scene. Even though this might be construed as hit and run, at least I'd be alive.

What's interesting about this case from a criminal law perspective is that but for the car striking Roqueta, the fight would probably have gone unreported.

I found another report of the incident ("Robot whiz dies in scuffle") which describes Roqueta as a bit of a hothead, and a driver of "Rammstein" on Comedy Central's "Battlebots" show:

Roqueta got into a shouting match with one of the man, but no punches were thrown. It looked like a fight would be avoided.

Moreno, Roqueta and Espinosa left, turning northbound on 441. They were stopped by a red light at Griffin Road. The Mercedes also stopped. The trash-talking resumed, and apparently escalated. Someone got out of the Mercedes and came around to the passenger side of the Neon, where Roqueta was sitting in the front seat. Roqueta got out.

LANDED A PUNCH

Fists began to fly, police said. One of the men from the Mercedes cocked back, swung, and landed a punch on Roqueta's face, sending him stumbling backward, police said.

Roqueta fell down, his head hitting the bumper of a car headed northbound on U.S. 441, police said. The sound of the crash was so piercing, someone called 911 and reported it as a gunshot. When police arrived, they realized Roqueta had suffered a violent death, but not from a bullet.

''This kid hit [Roqueta] right in the mouth,'' said Davie Police Lt. Bill Bamford. ``He lost his balance, fell backwards, and the car hit him in the headlight area. It was just bad timing.''

After the accident, Roqueta's friends and the other men drove away from the scene, leaving his body behind, police said.

Espinosa said everyone left but all later returned.

And what about the still-unidentified driver who hit Roqueta? There's clearly hit-and-run culpability, and if he'd been speeding, there might be a theory of manslaughter against him too. (It would depend also on whether pedestrians are permitted on U.S. 441 -- described as "a four lane highway" in that location.)

As I say, it's a good law exam question.

AFTERTHOUGHT AND UPDATE: I think I've finally figured out what caused this fight. It puzzled me that anyone driving a Mercedes would pick a fight with the driver of a Dodge Neon, so I read this account again:

The group left shortly after 4 a.m. and returned to the parking lot where they prepared to leave in Moreno's souped-up Dodge Neon, Espinosa said Sunday.

In the parking lot, three or four people in a black Mercedes began ridiculing the Neon, and an exchange of trash-talking ensued, Espinosa said.

The car was an older model, but it had a specialized exhaust system, typically reserved for faster, newer cars.

I'd be willing to bet that the reason for the "ridicule" was that the Mercedes driver was absolutely infuriated by the idea that an older Dodge Neon could possibly be cooler than a Mercedes.

Simple jealousy!

I'd be willing to bet that the Neon was cooler than the Mercedes too -- way cooler!

(I should probably be careful with my '64 Ranchero...)