Hit-and-run kills Milwaukee girl, family grieves as mother recovers
MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee girl was killed, and her mother was seriously hurt, in a hit-and-run on Tuesday morning, April 30.
Amid all the heartache, the family of 4-year-old Zekani Hymes-Wilson took a moment to grieve. In prayer and pink, loved ones mourned a life taken too soon.
"Her face should be the face that everyone should see to want to stop reckless driving," said Kijuana Jackson, a family friend. "Her face was beautiful, just a precious little girl."
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Gloria Hymes was crossing the street with her 4-year-old daughter to get pizza when they were hit. Prosecutors said a speeding driver hit them near Teutonia and Vera on the city's north side.
"She is fighting through, and she is pulling through," Kendell Hymes, Gloria's uncle, said.
Gloria Hymes and Zekani Hymes-Wilson
Donald Crayton, 30, is charged with hitting the mother and daughter. Investigators said Crayton was Hymes' live-in boyfriend.
"There’s a lot of thoughts and questions going through my head right now," said Kendell Hymes. "She is going to be missed so, so bad."
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Court records show this is not the first time Crayton has been charged in the death of a pedestrian. He served 10 months in jail, and was eventually given three years' probation, for hitting and killing a pedestrian in 2018.
Crayton appeared in court on Saturday. Court records show he is being held in the Milwaukee County Jail on $500,000 cash bond.
"That’s the best place for him, so he won't hurt anybody else's family," Kendell Hymes said.
Adriana Merkel, 21, is also charged in the case. Investigators said she and Crayton led police on a high-speed chase hours after the hit-and-run.