Carlos Ramos and Martha Perez are struggling to understand a world without their son, Jaden Ramos, who had just turned five years old.
Jaden was riding his bicycle in his neighborhood, the Glen Knoll Mobile Home Park in Wylie, when he was hit by a car on Wednesday.
Police said they got the call around 6:30 p.m. They said Jaden was taken to Medical City Dallas where he was pronounced dead from his injuries.
Investigators said the driver stayed on scene and is cooperating with them.
“The only thing I want is for the driver to pay for what he did, and that he knows what he did to this family,” said Ramos.
He said he was at work when he got a call that his son had been run over. When he got to the hospital, he was told his son was already gone.
“What I want is for the person to pay for what he did. And if he was drunk, I want him to tell the truth,” Ramos said. “I’ve been driving all my life and I know he wasn’t going five miles per hour for this to happen to my son.”
Police said they are still investigating the crash.
“I heard noises that were like a crunching sound, and I looked up as the van went by and it was bouncing like it had run over something,” said Cheryl Heflin, who was on her porch and called 911.
“I ran out to the street, saw my neighbor, little boy, in the street,” she said. “The vision that you get, I don’t know when or if it’ll ever go away.”
Heflin said she has a four-month-old granddaughter and thinks about her own daughter, who used to ride her bike in the mobile home park all the time.
“How did we get so lucky that nothing ever happened?” she said. “How do you process, ‘Why did this have to happen? Why?’ He was five years old. He has his whole life in front of him. He was going to start kindergarten in the fall.”
A budding memorial can already be seen where little Jaden lost his life.
Two candles will soon be accompanied by a cross, said Heflin, and flowers.
Raelynn Taylor also plans to add to it.
“Rocks and Spiderman toys because I know he likes Spiderman, too,” Taylor said.
The eight-year-old used to play with Jaden all the time.
“We played scooters with each other. And we would always like dig for stuff, and find rocks,” she said.
She said her family was about to have dinner when she found the news and ran outside, but they had already taken her friend away.
“I was really upset and crying a lot. Last night I cried myself to sleep because I couldn’t… go to sleep after that happened,” Taylor said.
She said her parents are trying to comfort her.
“They’re saying that they’re in a good place now, and with Jesus,” she said.
