NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A heartbroken South Florida family is making a plea to the driver who, authorities said, struck their relative on Easter Sunday and fled from the scene.
Twenty-nine-year-old Damien Beckford remains in the intensive care unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital, more than a week after the crash that, police said, took place in the area of Northwest Seventh Street and 112th Street.
Investigators said the victim had been a attending a Caribbean festival and was crossing Seventh Avenue when he was struck by a driver behind the wheel of a Lexus SUV, April 16, at around 2 a.m. The motorist then sped away.
“A car hit him and didn’t even stop,” said Janine Morgan, Beckford’s wife, as she held back tears.
An onlooker who walked by the scene spoke with 7News shortly after the accident. “When I walked up, they were saying the guy got hit in the southbound lane, and the car was going so fast, he flew to the northbound lane,” said the witness, who asked not to be identified or show his face on camera.
Morgan held her son, Damien Beckford Jr., as she spoke with 7News. “This is his junior, our child together,” she said. “He’s the best man I could ever know.”
The couple had married in November of last year and are starting a small business together. “We share everything with each other, and the person that hit him is robbing me of that,” said Morgan. ‘They’re robbing me of my time with my husband, and you can’t get back time.”
Now, Beckford’s wife is asking the motorist who, police said, struck her husband to turn himself in. “I just need the person to come forward, please,” she said.
If you have any information on this hit-and-run, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $1,000 reward.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.