Balloon release held for 4-year-old victim of hit and run, driver held on $500,000 bond
Dozens of silver and pink balloons streaked across the sky Saturday afternoon as friends and family gathered to honor 4-year-old Zekani Hymes-Wilson.
The memorial took place near the intersection on the city's north side where Zekani was killed in a hit-and-run crash as she and her mother were trying to cross the street about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at North Teutonia and West Vera avenues.
Charges — five felonies and a misdemeanor related to the crash — were filed Friday against Donald Crayton, 30, of Milwaukee, who lived at the same address as Zekani and her mother.
He is accused of driving into the pair, killing Zekani and injuring her mother, Gloria Hymes. Crayton made his initial appearance Saturday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, where bond was set at $500,000.
Zekani's uncle, Kendell Hymes, 46, called his niece was a "princess" who could do no wrong.
“Certain kids be bad, some not. She is not the bad one. She’s really a princess," Hymes said.
“Definitely, going to be a big loss to the family and a big hurt to the family. We are going to do everything to keep her memory alive,” he said.
Nearly 100 people gathered at the site of the accident to release the balloons. A Milwaukee County Transit System bus driver made an unscheduled stop to deliver a bundle of silver balloons for the release.
Before the balloon release, Neka Willis-Dorsey, a family friend, asked prayer warriors to gather around Zekani's grandmother, Erica Hymes, to lift her up in prayers.
"We are tired, God, of balloon releases. We are tired of losses, God," Willis-Dorsey said, adding this balloon release symbolizes peace, strength and healing. "Strengthen the family God. Dry up the tears, God."
Erica Hymes was moved by the show of support. She thanked those who attended, saying this is what the family needed right now.
"Thank you is not enough,” Erica Hymes, 42, said. “Every day hasn’t been a good day for me or for my baby (daughter). Being out at the hospital, that’s already exhausting.”
She asked for patience as she gave an update on her daughter's condition. She said her daughter's recovery has surprised even the doctors, something Erica Hymes credits to God.
"My baby is doing good yall," she told the crowd.
The crash prompted fury from normally reserved Mayor Cavalier Johnson during a press conference at the scene hours after the crash.
Among those attending the balloon release were members of Queens of Da MIL, a nonprofit of which Erica Hymes is a member. The group supports sisterhood and provides a safe place for women while also doing community service work.
Queens of Da MIL members Takara Mores, 40 and Narsheka Grady, 42, came to support their “sister.”
“She is our sister. If that is a loss for her, it is a loss for us,” Mores said. “We are always going to be there.”
Grady was not surprised by the large showing of support at the release. Erica Hymes, Grady said, is known for going out of her way to help people.
“When you are the type of person that just give, give, give to everybody, it is just going to come back to you ten-times fold,” said Grady, who founded Queens of Da MIL in 2017.
La Risa R. Lynch and Alison Dirr can be reached at llynch@gannett.com and adirr@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Balloon release held for Milwaukee 4-year-old killed in hit-and-run
