OPA-LOCKA, FLA. (WSVN) - A mother of six has been killed following a hit-and-run in Opa-Locka.
Opa-Locka Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene in the area of Northwest 135th Street and 30th Avenue after 9:45 p.m., Wednesday.
According to fire officials, the call came in as a pedestrian that had been struck.
Opa-Locka Police Chief James Dobson said the adult female was pronounced dead at the scene, and the vehicle that struck her left the scene.
“We would ask that someone would just stop,” Dobson said. “That’s a life. That’s a sister, a daughter, a mother, a friend, someone’s loved one that they just left here on scene.”
Family members identified the woman as Deandre “DeDe” Bradley.
“She got kids, man,” family friend Elondra Leverson said. “This girl just had a baby. It was devastating, really devastating.”
They said she had just left a nearby convenience store when a car struck her.
“I’m going to miss her so much,” Bradley’s aunt, who did not want to show her face, said. “A short life. She would take anybody in; take the shirt off her back to feed you. Oh, my goodness, it’s so heartbreaking.”
“She be getting ready to go cross the street, and then she see her son, and when she snatched her son back, he caught her; and she went airborne over across the street,” said neighbor Sislynn Brown, who told 7News that Bradley saved her teenage son from getting hit as well. “If she wouldn’t have pulled her son back, they both of them would’ve probably gotten killed, you know? But she spared her son.”
Since there is a fatality, Dobson said Miami-Dade Police will now handling the investigation.
Authorities said they are looking for a white Chrysler 300 sedan.
As her family comes to terms with what happened, Bradley’s aunt is pleading with the driver who took her niece’s life.
“Have a heart. Give yourself up. You shouldn’t have left the scene,” the victim’s aunt said. “She have young babies. Think of it if it was your mom or your kids or anything like that. Whoever that’s out there, please, I beg you, I beg you. I am still praying, but please whoever did this to DeDe, they need to be caught and found and put in jail.”
7News cameras captured stuffed animals and balloons placed where the mother of six lost her life.
Family and friends of the victim could be seen grieving Thursday night at the makeshift memorial, which continues to grow with more balloons and stuffed animals.
“Whoever did this, I hope they catch you because this is wrong,” Leverson said. “It is wrong.”
Officers shut down Northwest 135th Street in both directions for some time.
The roadway has since reopened.
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 $3,000 reward.
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