Two days before he would turn 11, child who was hit crossing road dies from head trauma

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - He was a jokester, athletic, bubbly, had a funny personality. 

Amari Myles achieved many loving titles, and all before his 11th birthday. Tragically, only days before he would have celebrated another year around the sun, he was killed crossing the road.

"We were really praying for a miracle, they had him on life support and they were doing everything they could to save him," said Franchella Wright, Amari's cousin.

Myles was spending his Saturday afternoon in the same productive manner he had enjoyed much of the 2019 summer: selling water with another younger cousin, while a family friend supervised their entrepreneurship.

Their stand was located near Plymouth and Southfield.

"They were out selling waters trying to raise some money over the summer and just learn about work ethic and fill their time up over the summer break," said Wright.

They even had some success that afternoon. After selling some water to a gentleman across the street, Myles crossed the street. Wright said surveillance video from a nearby gas station shows what happened next.

"Traffic stops on all sides, but there's one driver that does not yield and she struck Amari," she said. "It makes me feel sad. It makes me feel shocked. We did not imagine he wouldn't make it. We were just hoping that he would make it."

That driver would stop at the scene. However, the damage was done. Amari suffered trauma to his head, and would later die on Tuesday.

For Myles' mother, it's the second close member of her family she would lose in a matter of years. Myle's father died of gun violence a couple years prior. As for his siblings, hit 4-year-old twin brothers unsure of where their brother is and don't fully understand what's going on.

The family has set up a Gofundme page to pay for Myle's funeral. They are also awaiting any more information to come out about what happened. As of Wednesday, the driver at fault has not been charged, but Detroit Police said a warrant request should be sent to the Wayne County Prosecutor's office this week.

"We still have this additional issue lingering behind to make sure justice is served," Wright said. "We're wondering if it was something that was preventable."