A HIT AND RUN driver  killed a star Panamanian cyclist and triathlete, on Avenida Balboa in Panama City. 

Monica Isabel  Licona de Zepeda, 22 , died Sunday morning at the National Hospital after being hit by a white Kia car on Avenida Balboa  in front of the Mirimar Hotel.

The driver fled and the car was abandoned  on Avenida Mexico, according to preliminary reports.

Juventino Quiroz, president of the Panama Movement of Street Cyclists said: "We are dismayed by the death of Monica," adding that she was on her way to join a training ride in Chitre when she was  hit. He described the action as "irresponsible" and announced a vigil calling for more respect for cyclists on the streets.

Relatives of the   triathlete are  not in Panama reports La Prensa

She was training for the Giro Cycling event in Panama,that was scheduled to be officially announced this week

The cyclist represented Panama in the Pan- American Games in Medellin, Colombia, in 2011 and the Central American and Caribbean Games in Puerto Rico.