RANCHO CUCAMONGA (CBSLA.com) — Friends and family of a 25-year-old bicyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Rancho Cucamonga held a vigil in his honor on Wednesday.

Michael Vega was struck from behind around 6:40 p.m. Tuesday on Foothill Boulevard near Ramona Avenue.

He was wearing a helmet, but paramedics said he was hit so hard, he was knocked out of his shoes.

Police said the suspect was driving a white utility truck with a black ladder rack and two ladders.

Vega worked at an Apple store in Victoria Gardens, where he met his girlfriend.

He was riding to her home before the fatal accident.

“Everything still smells like him. My room. His room. His house. Everything,” said Yvette Favela.

Vega’s mother, Michelle, said she’s grateful to the people who were with her son when he died.

“I’m so thankful to all the people that were here with him, prayed for him, and the woman that held my son like it was her own baby,” she said.

Loved ones placed a white spray painted bike at a roadside memorial at the crash site Wednesday night.

They’re still coming to terms with his passing.

“I always told him how much I loved him. He knows how much we loved him and we know he loved us,” said his father, John.

“Ironically, (Tuesday night) I saw double rainbows from my house and I was taking a picture. And you know it was right about the same time (he passed), I guess,” said Michelle.

Contact the authorities if you have any information about the hit-and-run.