INDIANAPOLIS – A 3-year-old boy from Indianapolis has died following a hit-and-run crash Monday in the parking lot of a Castleton shopping center.
The victim was identified as Jyrie Mathews. His mother shared an emotional plea for help following the devastating loss.
“That was my baby,” mother Lakiea Murry said. “Everywhere I went, he went with me.”
Through tears, Murry recalled her youngest son’s constant playful presence by her side.
“He always stayed with me,” she said. “Others would want to take him and he would say no he wanted to stay with me and now I’m gonna be by myself.”
Murry said she stopped in the Clearwater Village parking lot along 82nd Street after her car overheated Monday night. Shortly after, her son got out of the car to play with a ball when tragedy struck.
“All of a sudden I didn’t hear any more dribbling,” Murry said. “I went behind the car and saw him laying there.”
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to the scene.
“You know, there’s a mother here who lost a child and it could have been completely by accident,” said IMPD Lt. Shane Foley.
While police did not confirm information on a suspect vehicle, Murry said she saw a white SUV drive away toward a nearby shoe store.
“It’s entirely possible the driver doesn’t even know they struck a small child,” Foley said. “So, we’re asking anyone in that area to look at your vehicle and see if you damage.”
Murry said she thinks other factors may have alerted the driver to the fact that her son had been hit.
“I know they probably didn’t see him, but they probably heard something,” she said. “They could have thought they hit a pothole, but they didn’t. They hit my son.”
IMPD has investigated four fatal hit-and-runs over the last two weeks spanning the length of the city. Both Murry and local officers said they have a message for local drivers.
“On a broader scale, we’re asking if you hit somebody to stop and render aid,” said Foley.
Murry wants those involved in these types of crashes that someone’s life is involved.
“He had a long life to live,” she said. “I wish that people that hit anyone would please just stop.”
So far all four recent fatal hit-and-runs officially remain unsolved, IMPD said. Anyone with information on any of those cases is being asked to contact either IMPD or Crime Stoppers at (317) 262-TIPS.
