WILTON MANORS, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have located the car involved in a hit-and-run that claimed the lives of two children in Wilton Manors and sent four others to the hospital, as they continue their search for the driver responsible.
7News cameras on Tuesday captured a memorial that has been set up and continues to grow in front of a small apartment complex near the scene of the crash.
“I mean, this really hurts, you know. Everybody in the community right now is hurting,” said a neighbor.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office announced they had located the vehicle involved in Monday afternoon’s hit-and-run along Northwest Ninth Avenue, just south of Oakland Park Boulevard.
Investigators said the driver was trying to pass a merging bus, lost control and plowed into the group of children on the sidewalk.
“He went around the bus, and he came on the curb, onto the curb where the kids was waiting for their father,” neighbor Harriet Lewis said.
Selvin Arjun, the driver of the bus, said it all happened in an instant.
“As soon as he gets in front of me, he just went straight for the kids,” he said.
Firefighters said all victims were under the age of 10.
“This was children,” one woman said. “They didn’t even much get a chance to really know what life is really all about.”
Just days after Christmas, families are now forced to face a tragic reality.
“This is a heartbreaking evening for everyone, for family, friends, and for the first responders that responded to the scene,” said BSO spokesperson Miranda Grossman.
“It hurt real bad, and they not even none of my kids or my grandchildren, but it just hurts,” one woman said.
Police have identified the two victims as 6-year-old Andrea Fleming and 5-year-old Paris Kylie Jones.
Draya Fleming, 9, Laziyah Stukes, 9, Johnathan Carter, 10, and Audre Fleming, 2, were all transported to the hospital for treatment.
Lewis said she heard the crash and ran out to help.
“I said, ‘It’s one more here, underneath the car, she’s underneath the car. Y’all need to pull her from underneath the car,'” she said.
Lewis said good Samaritans rushed over to help as she comforted the young girl who was badly hurt and bleeding.
“They all came and pulled the car up, and I was holding her hand and letting her know, ‘Just hear my voice. Don’t go. Don’t sleep. Hear my voice,'” Lewis said.
Police are now searching for the driver behind the crash as a family and community deal with a loss that has changed them forever.
“I think that person should not be out in the public,” said Arjun, “because even if you’re not paying attention, and you run and you hit something, you should stop.”
“People in the world is evil,” one woman said.
If you have any information on this fatal hit-and-run, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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