MIAMI – The relatives of 61-year-old Dale Raines, a self-taught saxophone player who believed in miracles, want justice.
Shanna Hullabe said Thursday it hurts her to see her uncle in a vegetative state at Jackson Memorial Hospital. She and her family want detectives to find the driver of a white car with tinted windows who put him there.
Witnesses told police officers a car that appeared to be a Nissan Maxima struck the back of Raines' scooter Jan. 25. The driver was heading northbound on 22nd Avenue and struck Raines near 179th Street in Miami Gardens.
Hullabe has a message for the driver: "I just hope that you can find it in your heart to be a good human being and to say what happened ... so we can sleep at night because we haven’t slept for five months."
Wynett Cepil, Raines' sister, said his prognosis wasn't good.
"I am hurt and I’m injured and I’m wounded and I’m damaged," Cepil said.
Raines was riding his scooter to rehearse with a band. He loved playing the saxophone and the soprano saxophone and was a proud Christian who was often entertaining at rallies in support of President Donald Trump.
"The person that hit my uncle took away everything that made him beautiful and funny and interesting and a part of our community," Hullabe said.
Hullabe is asking anyone with information about the hit-and-run crash in Miami Gardens to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
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