Family of 12-year-old killed in NE Harris County pleading for hit-and-run driver to come forward
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- The 12-year-old boy killed by a hit-and-run driver in northeast Harris County Tuesday night has now been identified as Zachariah Benjamin, according to the sheriff's office.
Zachariah's sister said he was out playing at a friend's house Tuesday evening, but he never made it home.
"He was headed home. He was coming back home. It was getting late. He was doing the right thing, coming back, riding the sidewalk like he was supposed to," said Monique Brown, Zachariah's sister.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Boy on bike dies after being hit by car in northeast Harris County, sheriff says
The Harris County Sheriff's Office says Zachariah was on his bicycle when things took a turn around 8:40 p.m.
I just want the person to come forward that did it.Monique Brown, victim's sister
"We have video of it farther south of here from a house where it appears that the child was being chased by a dog. The child appears to lose control of the bike in some loose sand that's on the sidewalk. The child falls into the lane of traffic where a black sedan strikes the child and leaves the scene," HCSO Deputy Anthony McConnell said.
Investigators said they now believe that the black car is a Chrysler 300.
"I just want the person to come forward that did it. I feel like you're making it worse on yourself when you left the scene when all you could've done - it was absolutely a mistake," Brown said.
While investigators are still trying to determine if speed was a factor, the search for that driver continues, as their family mourns the loss of another loved one.
"Knowing like to get the phone call that you can't hear his last breath, not knowing if he screamed for your name, if he called you, but to know that he's happy now to be with our mother, his grandmother, my sister," Brown said.
She also said she wishes he wasn't alone when he died.
"That I love him. I wish I could've held him. I wish I could've been right there when he took his last breath," Brown said.
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