A 7-year-old boy from Texas was killed by a hit-and-run driver on March 3 while trying to cross the street during a game of tag, police say. The late-night accident happened around 10 p.m. near Nelson Morales' home in Fort Worth during a family get-together that ended in tragedy.
Nelson's older brother, Christian Rivas, said the family had gathered to celebrate the life of their late grandmother.
Speaking with NBC 5, Rivas explained that their grandmother died just a week and a half earlier, and they had gathered Tuesday at a family member's home, close to where Nelson and his six other siblings lived.
“We had just come together to share a meal as a family in honor of my grandma," Rivas recalled.
As his family was cleaning up from the "celebration of life" event, Nelson went outside to play tag outside with his cousins.
Tragedy struck just moments later, when an SUV hit Nelson while he was crossing the street.
According to Rivas, he knew immediately that something was wrong.
“That’s when I heard my little baby cousin screaming and yelling that [Nelson] got ran over," he shared. "We couldn’t believe it and took off running. Everything just happened so quick."
Nelson and his cousins had been trying to cross the street at Wichita Street and Comanche, Fox 4 reported. The kids had stopped and waited for a southbound vehicle to pass. The driver of that car turned left after passing the crosswalk, which is when the kids began to cross. But an SUV coming from the opposite direction came flying down the street and drove directly into Nelson.
After striking the boy, the SUV allegedly dragged him for several blocks before he was released. Then, the driver sped away.
“I saw they were kids trying to cross and I saw there was a car coming," said Jazmen Craddock, the driver of the other car that the left turn, told Fox 4. "Once we hit that corner and heard what we heard, I just saw dust everywhere. And the car just sped off, like they didn’t even stop."
Police arrived at the scene about 10:20 p.m., NBC 5 reported. Although Nelson was rushed right away to a hospital, he was declared dead shortly before 11 p.m.
Neighbors later told the news station that speeding drivers have been a problem on their street for some time.
"This street, that street, the street behind me," Andra Craig told the news station. "They just fly all the time."
Unfortunately, police don't have much information about the vehicle that hit Nelson.
For now, authorities are asking anyone with information about either a gray or silver Toyota SUV that may have been involved to call 817-392-4869.
Buddy Calzada of the Fort Worth Police Department told Fox 4 that authorities will be searching through footage from surveillance cameras on nearby homes and businesses to see if they can spot "a license plate or anything that can assist us in finding this individual."
Rivas said that although he hadn't seen what happened, other neighbors in the area did and were able to provide several details to police.
Meanwhile, the young boy's family is still grappling with his shocking and sudden death.
“So sad, tragic and unexpected," Rivas told NBC 5. "Never expected it to happen to him. He’s just a little boy. I was at the house. We don’t expect anything like that to happen to no one."
He added that his brother had recently joined a soccer team and loved the video game Fortnite.
“He was a sweet young boy. He wouldn’t bother anyone," Rivas continued. "He would just get home from school and either play a little bit of soccer or kick the ball around."
Rivas told Fox 4 that he thought the driver of the SUV was "heartless" for leaving his little brother like that and "not stopping to at least try to help."
"That’s not what a human being is supposed to do," he said. "We’re supposed to help each other."
If the driver is out there and listening, Rivas has just one message for that person.
In his interview with NBC 5, Rivas said:
“I would just like for [them] to step up and be responsible for what [they] did. We understand that it was an accident, but the fact that [they] just left, and just left my baby brother unconscious. Not trying to help, it’s sad. We just ask you to step up. And pay for what you did.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for Nelson's funeral.
