Hit-run car found, but driver missing
WILTON MANORS — The car that struck and killed two children and injured four others in a Wilton Manors hit-and-run on Monday has been found, but police were still searching for the man who nearly hit a bus and then plowed into the group of kids.
The two girls who were killed Monday afternoon were identified as Andrea Fleming, 6, and Kylie Jones,
5, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said.
The injured children, two girls and two boys — Draya Fleming, 9; Audre Fleming, 2; Laziyah Stokes, 9; Johnathan Carter, 10 — remained at Broward Health Medical Center.
Stanley Holcomb Sr., the great uncle of 6-year-old Andrea Fleming, said five of the children, all relatives, live in Miami and one lives in Broward County. They were visiting one child’s father who lives in Wilton Manors and were walking back home from a nearby park, waiting to cross the street, when the driver struck them, Holcomb said.
“Those were kids they ran down,” he said. “It wasn’t an animal that you hit. The family right now is hurting, just want closure.”
His niece Andrea Fleming was only in the first grade, a “smart, bright student” who loved school, drawing and writing.
“She was my baby rock.
She was my heart. I really spoiled her. I’m really going to miss her so much,” he said.
Only days after seeing his niece on Christmas, Holcomb said, the family is now planning funerals for her and 5-year-old Kylie Jones.
“Two beautiful young girls. They were always happy, fun and laughable to be around, every time you see them,” he said. “Just two
children trying to grow up in this world.”
The family hopes the driver will turn himself in, Holcomb said.
“Hopefully you have a heart. If you have any kids, you know what it feels like,” he said.
Deputies said that about 2:45 p.m. Monday, a 2009 Honda Accord sedan, driven by an unidentified man, was traveling south on Powerline Road at the same time a Broward County Transit bus was stopped while dropping off a passenger.
Afterward, the bus attempted to merge into traffic to continue traveling south.
The Honda Accord approached the bus from behind and failed to slow down and allow the bus to merge into the righthand travel lane.
As the Accord passed the bus it almost hit the front driver’s side of the bus.
The Accord then veered right and drove off the road and onto the sidewalk and driveway at 2417 NW Ninth Avenue, hitting the children.
The Accord accelerated and fled the scene after hitting the children, deputies said.
Several residents who live near the crash scene voiced concerns Monday about speeding motorists on Powerline Road.
The City of Wilton Manors has been working with the Florida Department of Transportation on a safety audit for the main roadway, asking residents for input as recently as May.
Commissioner Chris Caputo said residents have expressed concerns about bicyclist safety and speeding on Powerline Road, a road that has been known as a “challenging area” for quite some time, Caputo said. The city is currently working to lower the speed limit from 45 to 40 mph.
“The speeding is definitely an issue there. People treat it like it’s a highway. Instead of taking [Interstate] 95 they’re taking this ... It’s used, frankly, by so many as a fast alternative to 95,” Caputo said.
Wilton Manors police chief Gary Blocker posted a letter on Facebook acknowledging the tragedy and heartbreak. It concluded by saying, “Today there is a somber atmosphere here in our Island City. We will remain Island City Strong as we support one another through this tragedy in our search for a pathway toward better days that lie ahead.”
A makeshift memorial started to emerge at the crash scene fewer than 24 hours after the tragedy. As of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, it included about 10 bouquets of flowers and a dozen or so stuffed animals.
A woman who appeared to be in her 60s walked from an apartment across the street, silently placed a bouquet of flowers on the ground at the makeshift memorial, and with tears in her eyes politely declined to speak with anybody before returning home.
A few people gathered near the memorial earlier in the day, and one person, a resident of the apartment complex where the crash happened, said she went outside right after the crash.
“When I came out the kids were lying on the ground,” she said. “The car was gone that hit them.”
The Florida Crisis Response Team will be available to speak with community members from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday at Hagen Park, according to Wilton Manors Police.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the state had 254 hit-and-run fatalities last year, and 137 (54%) were pedestrians.
However, Monday’s incident went against a hit-and-run trend in Florida, which shows 83% of hit-and-run fatalities in 2020 occurred in the low-light circumstances of dawn, dusk, or nighttime.
Hit-and-run crashes comprised 27% of the accidents in Florida in 2020, totaling 92,247 of 341,399 crashes, according to the FHP.
Among those 92,247 hit-and-run crashes, there were 20,994 injuries and 256 deaths.
Broward County had 10,521 hit-and-run crashes in 2020. Those crashes resulted in 2,074 injuries and 25 fatalities.
By comparison, Palm Beach County had 6,155 hit-and-run crashes in 2020. Those crashes resulted in 1,724 injuries and 11 fatalities.