MIRAMAR, Fla. – Police are hoping new surveillance images of a car used in a fatal hit-and-run crash will help them find the driver.
It's been nearly a week since 6-year-old Deandre Binns was hit and killed.
Monique Batchelor, the boy's mother, pleaded for the public's help in finding the driver Tuesday as police released new information about the vehicle believed to have taken her son's life. Contrary to initial descriptions provided by witnesses, the vehicle of interest is not a Dodge Charger, but rather a 1990 to '93 white Honda Accord.
Binns' family told Local 10's Baron James they are raising money for a reward for information leading to the driver behind the wheel of the Accord.
Batchelor wept Tuesday as she played back a recording of her son singing which he left on her cell phone.
"That's Deandre. That's what he left me with. That's all I have right now. Please help us," she said. "He left me with everything as if he know. There were times where I would go through them and delete them, but now I realize why this was being done. No one will understand the pain that I feel."
Batchelor said she and her family had eaten dinner at the McDonald's in the 6200 block of Miramar Parkway about 8:30 p.m. Jan. 9. As they crossed the street, a white sedan hit Binns, who was walking behind a relative, said police.
Witnesses told detectives the driver swerved twice with Binns on the hood of the car before running him over and then taking off. Detectives said the car had tinted windows, a distinctive black door guard, and would be missing its front right hubcap.
The boy was taken to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, where he died.
"We just want to know what happened. That will bring some kind of closure as to why you kept going," said Batchelor. "He was my shining star. He was my leader. He helped me when I needed it. He used to talk to me like if he was my best friend."
Investigators released two pictures of the car Monday. Witnesses saw the white sedan at the intersection of Miramar Parkway and U.S. 441 minutes after Binns was hit.
"I don't want to think that we'll never find out why you just kept going. Why? It was an accident," said Batchelor. "I don't want it to end here for him. I want justice."
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.