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Teen Boy Killed and Girl Critically Injured in Hit-and-Run, Police Say

By  Eddie Small and Aidan Gardiner | January 5, 2015 8:53am | Updated on January 5, 2015 1:12pm

 Dylon Ramirez, 16, was fatally struck by two cars on the corner of Crawford Avenue and Baychester Avenue, police said.
Dylon Ramirez, 16, was fatally struck by two cars on the corner of Crawford Avenue and Baychester Avenue, police said.
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Facebook/Dylon Ramirez

THE BRONX — A 16-year-old boy was killed and his 15-year-old friend was critically injured when two drivers, one of whom was later arrested, struck them and fled the Edenwald scene Sunday evening, police and relatives said.

Dylon Ramirez and Iyanna Nation were on Crawford Avenue crossing east at Baychester Avenue about 5 p.m. when a Honda Accord traveling north on Baychester slammed into them and drove off, according to the NYPD.

Eyewitness Taheera Mushatt told police that she saw the Honda accelerate as the traffic light turned yellow and collide with the teens, flinging them onto the other side of the road. Another vehicle, heading down Baychester in the opposite direction, hit the pair again and also fled the scene.

Dylon, who lived about three blocks from the intersection and whose family described as having a love for cars, was pronounced dead at Jacobi Hospital, police said. Iyanna who was friends with Ramirez, was listed in critical condition at Jacobi, police said.

The Accord's driver, Shawn Williams, 26, returned to the site of the accident and was arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a traffic fatality and reckless driving, police said.

"I was the driver of the vehicle. I was the one that hit that kid," Williams told police after turning himself in. "I was shaken up. I didn't know what to do, so I went home and my family told me to go to the precinct."

Information about his lawyer was not immediately available.

The driver of the second vehicle had not been located as of Monday morning, an NYPD spokesman said.

A group of candles lit up the entrance of Ramirez's home, a public housing complex on East 229th Street, as a memorial on Monday.

Ramirez's family described him as a kind and caring person who loved cars — particularly Honda Civics — and hoped to build them himself one day. He was popular and also liked boxing, dancing and music.

"He's a beautiful person," said Cynthia Berganzo, Ramirez's mother, her voice quavering as she spoke from the family's apartment Monday morning. "He's lovable. He's caring. He has a good heart."

Matthew Ramirez, the victim's 14-year-old brother, said he looked up to him as a role model, and his father Melvin Ramirez said his son was always willing to lend a hand to someone in need.

"If anybody needed help, he was right there," he said.