{"id":400065,"date":"2026-09-15T03:06:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T03:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400065\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T03:06:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T03:06:08","slug":"community-gathers-to-remember-10-year-old-killed-in-hit-and-run-in-nw-miami-dade-as-boy-remains-critical-at-hospital-wsvn-7news-miami-news-weather-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/400065\/","title":{"rendered":"Community gathers to remember 10-year-old killed in hit-and-run in NW Miami-Dade as boy remains critical at hospital – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"

NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) – Hundreds of people came together to remember a 10-year-old girl whose childhood was cut short when a hit-and-run driver struck her and her brother<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A sea of pink and purple overtook Gwen Cherry Park on Monday night for the candlelight memorial<\/a> as loved ones and community members said goodbye to Peyton Williams.<\/p>\n

Mobile billboards lit up across the park with \u201cForever 10\u201d slogans, along with balloons and candles.<\/p>\n

The young girl\u2019s friends and cheer teammates say they have fond memories of their time with her and are heartbroken that they won\u2019t be able to grow up alongside her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was emotional. When I first found out, we went to school crying, me and my friends. People loved her, people cared about her,\u201d said Savannah, the victim\u2019s friend and cousin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard for everyone to lose somebody,\u201d said Michala, Peyton\u2019s friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer smile, how she looked. She\u2019s very beautiful, sweet, and she was a good friend,\u201d said Akilah, Peyton\u2019s friend.<\/p>\n

Investigators said Peyton and her brother, Willbrent, were struck at the intersection of Northwest Seventh Avenue and 117th Street last Wednesday while they were riding their e-bike. The crash proved fatal for the 10-year-old and left her 15-year-old brother critically injured.<\/p>\n

As of late Monday night, Willbrent remains at the hospital.<\/p>\n

For Peyton\u2019s family, the loss is unimaginable. Her mother, Shaniq, appeared at Monday\u2019s event to share her heartbreak with the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy baby didn\u2019t only have an impact on the city; she had an impact on the world,\u201d said Shaniq, the children\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n

Investigators said the driver remains at large. Over the weekend, Miami-Dade Sheriff\u2019s Office deputies located the Nissan Versa<\/a> that was involved in the crash, but the driver was nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n

Shaniq said she wants justice and pleaded with the person responsible.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo the right thing. Turn yourself in. Nobody can sleep. Nobody can eat. We can\u2019t do anything. Everyone is in the dark right now,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

As for Willbrent, the heartbroken mother said he has started to recover and that he\u2019s alert and talking, but the family has yet to tell him about the loss of his sister.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be the trauma all over again. They were very close. They did everything together,\u201d said Shaniq.<\/p>\n

As detectives search for the person behind the wheel, the family says the community\u2019s outpouring of support has kept them positive and moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a light. It\u2019s like a spiritual feeling to know that they are so loved and that so many people came forward to show support,\u201d said Katrina Kears, the children\u2019s aunt.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was only 10 years old. So just imagine her life being here for that short period of time, having touched so many people, so many individuals,\u201d said Shaniq.<\/p>\n

Those at the memorial say Peyton will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n

If you have any information on this crime, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\tJoin our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) – Hundreds of people came together to remember a 10-year-old girl whose childhood was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400066,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124],"class_list":["post-400065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400065"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400065\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}