8-Year Old Killed In Hit & Run Laid To Rest
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DANIA BEACH (CBSMiami) – A child killed in a hit and run in Dania Beach earlier this month was laid to rest on Saturday.
Apollo Brown, Jr., 8, and his brother, Kelvron Florence, 14, were struck on December 8th, at 100 Bryan Road while walking home from a basketball game.
Brown was declared dead on December 19th. His funeral was held at noon at the True Praise Family Worship Center in Hollywood. Hundreds of people came to pay their respects before his small casket was placed into a horse-drawn carriage and led to his final resting place.
The funeral comes just days after Broward Sheriffs deputies arrested two people in connection to the hit and run.
READ: Arrests Made In Deadly Dania Beach Hit & Run
Twenty-two year-old Zachary Benjamins and his girlfriend Anaee Barbeito were arrested earlier this week.
After a two week search, including a raise in reward money for information leading to the driver of the Toyota Tacoma that allegedly hit the boy, Atlantic Coast Auto Collision Owner Nicolas Peppi helped investigators crack the case.
Benjamins, according to Broward Sheriff's Office, turned his damaged Tacoma over to his insurance company for repairs. The vehicle was then taken to Atlantic Coast Auto Collision body shop for an estimate.
On Monday afternoon, the shop's owners looked at the damage and recognized the car was connected to the crime so they reported it.
In bond court, Benjamins told a judge he just moved to South Florida from California less than a year ago. He also said he was bartender.
The attorney for the state said Benjamins confessed to the hit and run after being taken into custody. Also, he admitted that he had been drinking.
CLICK HERE to watch Travell Eiland's report
Benjamins has been charged with failure to remain at an accident scene involving a death, failure to stop at an accident scene involving a serious injury and tampering with evidence.
Barbeito is facing charges for Insurance fraud, tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact.
Meantime, the other victim of the hit and run, Kelvron is awake but is not speaking and suffered spinal damage. He still hasn't been told his little brother died.
"His eyes are open but he's not speaking. He cries and I pray he recovers," said his mother Selena Brown. "Even though I lost a child I still have one I'm holding on to. I just ask each and every one to continue to pray."
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