MIAMI (WSVN) - Family members are demanding justice after, they said, a hit-and-run driver left an elderly woman in the hospital with serious injuries.
As 80-year-old Marie Williams was walking from her North Miami home to a nearby store, Tuesday, she was hit by a car and left in the middle of the road. According to police, the driver hit her so hard that her body flew into the air and witnesses said that the driver actually stopped, got out of the car to look at Williams, before speeding away, near Northeast 137th Street and West Dixie Highway.
Paramedics airlifted her to Ryder Trauma Center and is expected to have surgery Thursday afternoon. She suffers from a broken leg, head and other internal injuries.
“I’m just thankful to God that she is alive. It could have been worse,” said June Saujos, Williams’ daughter, “because the people at the scene, they said that she was struck. She went up into the air and landed.”
Officials and family members are upset, however, that none of the hit-and-run witnesses will come forward with any information about the incident. According to police, about 20 bystanders may have seen the driver.
Knowing someone hit her mom has been difficult. “To see her laying in that hospital bed like that, I’m sorry,” Saujos said tearing up. “It’s very hard, but again, prayer is sustaining us.”
North Miami Police Officer Natalie Buissereth was one of the first who responded to the scene. “Literally, she was right here, right here lying on the ground,” she said. “We had at least 20 here, screaming, saying oh, my goodness, they knew her, they knew her son, and it was, ‘Help us, help us.’ ‘Where did the car go?’ ‘Which direction?’ ‘What color?’ ‘Who was driving?’ and it was almost like silence. No one would say anything. Meanwhile, she was still literally on the ground.”
Buissereth said that even though no one was coming forward, she said she heard the crowd whispering about the driver. “And I heard that, and I said, ‘Who said that?’ because I speak Creole, and they didn’t know I understood,” Buissereth said. “‘Who said that?’ Up at the sky, looking around, and there’s a woman lying her on the ground. Like, I was so upset.”
Saujos is also frustrated that nobody wants to help. “That’s pretty sad that they’re not willing to speak up if they saw something,” she said. “I’m just disheartened. I’m very upset about that. That could’ve been somebody’s mother, somebody’s grandmother. Be a good Samaritan and help out.”
When asked how angry he was at the driver, Williams’ grandson, Ishmael Sajous, said, “On scale of one to 10? 100.”
“I just hope that that person will turn themselves in,” Ishmael said.
June fears that this person could hurt someone else. “From what they’re telling us, she was literally struck and flew up in the air and fell to the ground,” June said. “Who’s to say that this person is not going to do it to someone else?”
Officials said the vehicle in question is a 2006 royal blue Mustang with a dark tint and is missing a passenger side window. Police said that the vehicle has been seen in the area before and believe the driver may be from the area of North Miami Beach.
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.
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