DETROIT – The family of a 10-year-old Detroit boy who was killed by a hit-and-run driver is renewing their plea for help from the public.
During a press conference Wednesday with Crime Stoppers, Christopher Sandoval parents fought back tears as they talked about how their son loved skate boarding, playing with Legos and reading.
"He was a great little boy. He loved doing many thing," said Lisa Sandoval. "He will be missed by man ... especially his brothers and sisters."
The 10-year-old died March 5 when he was hit while he was taking out the trash at his home on Bringard Drive.
Police say the boy was hit by a red 2000 or 2001 Dodge Ram pickup truck just after 1 p.m. on a street near the Eastland Shopping Center.
Sandoval's mother said she heard the crash and ran to her son's side, where she watched him take his last breaths.
"He was breathing for a little bit, long enough for me to tell him I'm sorry and that I loved him. That was it," she said.
--Lisa Sandoval & Yale Sedgeman
The driver also hit the garbage can Sandoval was standing next to, which then became wedged under his truck.
Witnesses said the man got out of his car and removed the can before driving away and leaving the boy in the street.
Lisa Sandoval said she thinks the person who hit her son was on drugs or alcohol because no decent person in their right mind would leave a child dying in the street.
"I'm pleading with you, come forward," she said. "I understand if it was an accident. But in an accident, you would have stopped. Just come forward. We need this. We need to lay him to rest."
The family also thanked everyone in the community who had been praying for them.
Reward
Crime Stoppers is offering a $2,500 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
If that tip comes in by midnight Wednesday, the reward will go up to $3,500.
To make an anonymous tip, call 1-800-SPEAKUP.