Family wants justice after teen killed, his toddler brother severely injured in South LA hit-and-run

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A hit-and-run driver in South Los Angeles killed a 13-year-old boy and left his 2-year-old brother fighting for his life. Now their heartbroken family is demanding the suspect to surrender.

Jade Amaya-Pineda was on her way to her grandmother's house Monday morning when tragedy struck.

She was in a car with her mother and two brothers in the area of 111th and Main streets. That's when a person driving a silver Mercedes ran a red light while traveling at a high rate of speed and slammed into the family's SUV.

The Mercedes caught fire following the crash and the driver took off on foot. No arrest has been made.

Jade's 13-year-old brother Chris was killed and her 2-year-old brother Damian remains on life support at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Jade's mother Debbie will be released from the hospital in the coming days.

"I need the guy to turn himself in because it's not fair what happened to my brother, and I miss him everyday," Jade Amaya-Pineda said.

"Damian is still in the same condition, and we just need the prayers to continue to come our way," said Tracey Rodriguez, the children's aunt. "And we want to thank everyone who has already been praying for us."

Eyewitness News met the family outside the hospital. They said their lives are changed forever.

They're praying for a miracle for Damian and are struggling to process that 13-year-old Chris is gone.

"He was one of the kids you knew was going to change the world because his view of the world was loving," Rodriguez said. "He was the kid that was going to grow up in a different society, make change and make sure people didn't feel left out. And we just lost somebody very special."

Chris' father told Eyewitness News in Spanish that when Chris died, he lost his best friend, his confidant and a piece of him.

"Justice is very important because we see a lot of people, especially now after the pandemic, being very reckless with driving whether it be speeding, running a red light, not checking if people are crossing the street," Rodriguez said.

The family organized a candlelight vigil to be held Friday evening at the crash site.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family.