A teenage girl is dead after a hit-and-run in Queens. Now, her family is left looking for answers. They held a candlelight vigil to honor her memory. NY1's Gene Apodaca has the story.
Hand in hand, loved ones in Brownsville sang and prayed for justice, remembering 16-year-old Alexia Smith, who was hit and killed Wednesday night walking across Sunrise Highway in Rosedale, Queens.
Police say the driver of the dark-colored van never stopped, never helped.
"He ran over and killed my daughter on Ash Wednesday, one of the holiest nights, so he obviously don't care about anything," Willie Smith, Alexia's father, said.
Willie Smith says he can't sleep since the tragedy that took his daughter.
Family members are heartbroken, thinking of all the times that are now lost.
"This is her baby brother that will never get to know his sister because you took her away from him," Alexia's mother, Charlene Smith, said as she held up the baby.
"She won't be able to graduate high school, she won't be at my wedding, she won't have her own wedding," said Giovanna Toussant, Alexia's sister. "She's gone."
But what isn't gone are the memories.
"She was somebody like if you take her somewhere you were going to have a good time," said friend Chyna Sheffield.
Childhood friends say they remember Alexia not only for her big personality and heart, but for her big dreams.
Aspiring to be a dancer one day, Alexia performed with her step troupe in junior high school.
"Alexia was the slow learner, so I had to teach Alexia, sometimes. Jamilla had to teach Alexia sometimes," Kieana Brown, a friend, said. "We all had to teach Alexia, but when Alexia got it, Alexia showed off."
Friends also say Alexia loved doing hair and had an eye for fashion.
The whole world seemed ahead of her, which is why her death at 16 is such a shock.
"She's my sister," a friend, Jamilla Woods, said, in tears. "I'll always love her no matter what…just like my sister."
Alexia's funeral has been scheduled for Feb. 20. Her family has set up a GoFundMe page in hopes of giving her a proper burial.
Anyone with information on the driver in this case should contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS, or text CRIMES and then enter TIP577, or visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com.