JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville family is having a hard time coming to terms with a teenager's death after the driver police said hit and killed him posted a photo of the teen's body to Twitter.
Trevius Williams, 16, was hit crossing Lem Turner road Sunday night, police said.
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A photo the driver took of Trevius' body and posted to social media went viral before it was eventually taken down.
In her mother's living room, surrounded by family, Connie Coles, Trevius' mother, described the moment she came upon the scene of her son's death.
"We turned," Coles said. "I saw the most horrible sight of my life -- the lights, the flashing lights, the sirens, the tape roped off, the glass in the road."
Trevius was hit crossing the street to get to a convenience store. His mother said it should not have played out the way it did.
She described Trevius as a generous, loving person who would do anything for his family. She said the driver's photo of her son lying dead in the road turned much of her sadness into anger.
"I'm mad. I'm angry," Coles said. "A part of me actually feels sympathy for him -- that he could be so heartless, that he could be such a cold-hearted person."
Coles, a mother of three, said she feels the driver's actions after police said he hit and killed her youngest son are inexcusable.
"He will never grow up to get married," Coles said of Trevius. "He won't go to college. He'll never be able to have kids, and you have the audacity to get out of your car and take a picture."
Police said Trevius was not in a crosswalk when he was hit, and no charges have been filed against the driver, who stayed at the scene and cooperated with police. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the driver did not break the law by posting the photo to social media.
Coles said she doesn't accept that.
"I want charges against him," Coles said. "I want his license to be taken and I think he should do some jail time. And I'm not going to stop until I get justice."
Coles' god-sister, Penny Hayes, who lived with Coles and Trevius, said she still can't believe the teen is gone.
"I miss him so much," Hayes said. "It's just empty without him. It's like something just -- I've just got a big ol' hole in my heart."
Hayes said Trevius loved to be outside and be with his family.
"He was so close to his mom," Hayes said. "He was the baby, and I just don't understand why they would do that."
Hayes said Trevius borrowed money from her Sunday night to walk to the convenience store just yards away on Lem Turner Road.
"I feel like it was my fault, because I shouldn't have given him that dollar," Hayes said. "I feel like it was my fault. I shouldn't have given him that dollar. He would've been here."
Trevius' relatives said they do not have the financial means to give him a proper burial. Donations to help the family can be made to a memorial fund at any Vystar Credit Union location.
The family will hold a vigil for Trevius at 7 p.m. Friday at the spot on Lem Turner where the teen was killed.