Grieving Mother Demands Answers After Son Killed In Road Rage Incident
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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – A grieving mother is speaking out after her son was shot and killed in a road rage incident near Fort Lauderdale.
The Broward Sheriff's Office said 27-year-old Don Alvarez was not armed but it appears the shooter, 28-year-old Jack Bellino, acted in self-defense in Sunday's incident.
BSO said the incident happened here right outside Bellino's house after they had had a confrontation in traffic nearby.
Alvarez's mother doesn't understand how this disagreement led to the loss of her eldest child and she is overwhelmed with grief.
"There are no words that can take away the pain that I feel. None. None. None," Stacia Richards said. "There are no words to show how I feel."
Richards' 27-year-old son was the father of a 5-year-old girl.
"What this has done to my life is, my life is gone, this has ripped my heart out. My heart is gone. I am broken. Why in the world would you do something like that? I don't understand it," Richards said.
Cell phone video captured the moments after the shooting at SW 48th Ave. and 13th St. as a woman administered CPR on Alvarez.
"I don't understand why people can't love each other and work it out and not argue and fight and kill each other. Don't they know what this does to other people. This not only hurts the individual, this hurts the whole family. He was loved by so many people," Richards said.
BSO said there was a confrontation after Bellino and Alvarez were driving in opposite directions and Bellino swerved over towards Alvarez.
"He actually made a U turn and followed the shooter and the shooter was yelling out, 'Hey, I am armed.' He tried to diffuse the situation," said Veda Coleman-Wright with BSO.
BSO said Alvarez's girlfriend showed detectives their own cell phone video showing Alvarez aggressively pursuing Bellino.
"Everything seems to suggest this was a situation where the deceased, he was the aggressor," Coleman-Wright said. "It appears the shooting was done in self-defense."
Coleman-Wright said there's a life lesson in all this.
"If people can take a moment and let cooler heads prevail, we wouldn't be in situations like this one," Coleman-Wright said. "You never know what the other person in that other car is going through. It is best just to walk away."
But Alvarez's mother is deeply troubled.
"Why, why did you do this to him? Why? Did to make you feel better?" Richards said. "I'll never be able to be with my son again."
Records show Alvarez had been arrested before for battery and possessing cocaine and marijuana.
BSO is continuing its investigation and wants more witnesses to come forward.
BSO said the Broward state attorney's office will decide if charges will be filed.
