A South Florida family wants justice after a driver hit a 61-year-old man while he was walking and killed him in Miami over the weekend.
Read more Ex-Sunrise Police sergeant seen grabbing officer’s neck avoids criminal trial
Family members identified the man as Alfred Jerome Akins.
“We’re hurting, it’s unbelievable that somebody could hit him and leave him in the street as he was nobody,” Akins’ niece Shantal Pascal said.
Family members say if you knew him, you called him Jerome or JJ Black.
“The life of the party, JJ Black, he’s going to dance, make you laugh, he was truly godsend,” Pascal said.
Akins’ family says he was leaving the laundromat Saturday and on his way to help out a family member when a driver hit him at Northwest 17th Avenue and 43rd Street in Miami and didn’t stop.
Days later, his family and loved ones are still wiping away tears and hugging each other tight. His daughter Evelyn Johnson, who is nine months pregnant, is crushed.
“My father won’t be here to see my baby; it’s really hurting me, and I’m trying to stay strong for me and my baby,” Johnson said. “But I do want justice.”
Police say they’re searching for a possible 2023 to 2026 Blue Honda Accord. Detectives want to question the driver about the hit-and-run.
“It’s unimaginable, the pain is unimaginable, we can’t understand how someone could keep going,” Pascal said.
Read more Family, friends seek answers in death of man who went overboard in Biscayne Bay
The family says Akins was loving and would give his last. They say he was a master plumber, talented and loved music.
“He was caring, loving and he wouldn’t hurt anybody, so the fact that this is his fate, we’re not going to stop until this person is found,” Pascal said.
The family is leaning on each other and their faith and believing they will get justice.
“We know that God will prevail, He will bring us justice, peace and hope,” Pascal said.
Miami Police still need the public’s help in identifying the vehicle and/or driver.
Anyone who has information about this vehicle is asked to contact Detective F. Fleites or any on-duty detective of the City of Miami Police Department Traffic Homicide Unit at 305-603-6525.
Read more Florida teen charged in stepsister’s cruise ship murder ordered detained until trial