Keisha Williams and her 3 daughters, NBC
Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth, a 5-year-old Khyla Hayes was killed by a hit-and-run driver when his red Chevrolet Suburban plowed into a group of children crossing the street on their way to a nearby park. Two older children crossed the 5200 block of Southcrest Court first and turned back to warn the younger children when they spotted the speeding SUV, but the accident happened too quickly. “I told them to stop, but they couldn’t hear me,” said 11-year-old Dasiaray Monreal.
Dasairay described the accident to reporters saying, “And this red Suburban came from that way, and came really fast, and hit both the little girl and the little boy, and the little girl went flying.”
The Suburban struck Khyla and her 6-year-old cousin Lamarion Perry, who was also seriously injured but will recover from his injuries. Neighbors rushed onto the scene to help the children but the driver did not stop to render aid. The Chevrolet instead slammed into a parked car. Even after hitting the parked vehicle, the driver continued onto a nearby apartment complex where he ditched the car. Angry citizens pointed the police in the right direction when the cowardly driver actually took off on foot.
The police took over from there and arrested 20-year-old Daniel McDonald and his 21-year-old passenger Patrick Allen Preston. McDonald was charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident causing death/bodily injury and Preston has been charged with public intoxication. Information on McDonald’s sobriety has not been released yet. McDonald has already confessed to hitting the children.
Khyla’s mother Keisha Williams cannot comprehend McDonald’s irresponsible actions. “They were just going to play, I don’t know why he sped up, why he ran,” Williams said. “I want to try not to remember her the last way I seen her.”
Family, friends and neighbors gathered in the spot the children were heading to when Khyla was hit. They lit candles and brought tokens like teddy bears to honor her memory.
