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A Southern California family is grieving the loss of two young brothers whose lives were tragically taken away in a hit-and-run accident in South Los Angeles last week.
Chris Amaya-Pineda, 13, and his brother Damian Amaya-Pineda, 2, died after being involved in a crash at the intersection of Main Street and 111th Place on January 9.
Chris died from the force of the shock, but little Damian lived for several days on life support before dying on January 16.
At a vigil held Monday night, the boys’ mother, Debbie Amaya, who was also in the car with her 16-year-old daughter when it was struck, said she will “hate forever” the yet-to-be-arrested driver. in this incident.
Two-year-old Damian and 13-year-old Chris were killed in the hit-and-run accident.
Debbie broke down in tears while speaking to local media at a vigil for her two young children on Monday night, but said she is trying to stay strong for her daughter, who is still alive.
“A mother should never bury her children, a mother should never bury her children,” the heartbroken mother said through tears.
The accident happened when the family was going to the grandmother’s house.
The family was in their SUV when the driver of a speeding Mercedes Benz sedan ran a red light and struck their vehicle just before 8 a.m. The force of the crash was so strong that the SUV was pushed into a fence and a parked vehicle.
The family was just two blocks from their home in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood. Debbie was driving at the time and said that she has been hitting herself in the week since the fatal accident.
“I’m so mad at myself, I didn’t see it coming,” Debbie said. Man, I didn’t see that coming.
“This family is completely torn apart, leaving the rest of the family (us) to help pick up the pieces,” reads a GoFundMe organized for the family.
This was the scene in South Los Angeles where the accident occurred
Chris died from the impact of the crash, the family and police said.
Several cars were badly damaged in the crash.
Damian was only two years old
Officials recorded the scene for hours to investigate.
The mother was recently released from the hospital after being in the intensive care unit for extensive injuries sustained in the accident.
Jade Amaya-Pineda, 16, was not seriously injured in the crash, but she has spent the past week reeling from the loss of her siblings.
“I told her everything would be fine,” Debbie said of her daughter.
‘She is stronger than me. She is telling me that she is strong. She even told me that she feels bad because she survived. And I told her not to feel that way,’ said Debbie KTLA.
Relatives spoke to the media during the vigil held on Monday
The family said they are grieving and devastated by the accident.
The driver of the Mercedes that struck the family’s SUV fled the scene on foot after the accident.
Police have spent the last week searching for the man.
On Monday night, Debbie begged the person to come forward and face justice for their actions.
“I will always hate this person because they took two of my children and that’s not fair,” she said. He took two of the loves of my life and that’s not fair.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Main Street and 111th Place.
This was one of the cars after the crash.
A witness at the scene told NBCLA after the crash that the Mercedes driver seemed remorseful after the crash but drove off anyway.
“I’ve never seen someone so ruthless… take off and go like that,” the witness said.
Another woman who spoke with FOX THE he said he pleaded with the driver before he fled.
‘It’s like, ‘Did I kill those kids? I kill them?’ and I said, “Yes,” the woman told the local media.
Police have been searching nearby hospitals believing that the driver may also have been injured in the collision.
When he is arrested, police officials say he will most likely face felony hit-and-run charges.
Before the boy died, his aunt had said that he would have been seriously affected by injuries sustained in the accident.
“If there is a miracle, the doctors say he will most likely be paralyzed,” Julie Amaya, the children’s aunt, said of the boy.
‘He won’t be the same little Damien he was before,’ Julie said.
The family finally announced the boy’s death in an update on the GoFundMe organized for the family.
“Doctors did everything possible to save little Damien’s life, however his injuries were too severe,” the update read. “We were all very supportive of little Damien,” the family said.
As of January 17, the fundraiser has raised nearly $84,000 of its $100,000 goal.