Family of 11-year-old who died after hit-and-run pleads drivers slow down

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Slow down.

Those two words are what one Milwaukee father is asking the community to do after losing his son to a hit-and-run.

Tyrone Reese is now faced with the challenge of burying his firstborn son after the 11-year-old died days after being hit by a car.

"This is the last thing I got. It's a part of me," Reese said about a hand sculpture doctors made of his son's hands before his death.

His son, Tyrone

Reese Jr., went by many nicknames: TJ, Big Reese, Jr. He was also affectionately known as "fat man."

"It comes from him because he liked to eat a lot of stuff," Reese Jr.'s 9-year-old cousin Alvionna Henard said.

"I can't even believe that my cousin is gone. I didn't get to say goodbye to him, I didn't get to say 'I love you' before he was gone."

The family tells CBS 58 they are heartbroken they will never see Tyrone's smiling face again.

"I'll remember him by God giving us, have him looking down on us, and we'll pray every day," Reese Jr.'s 11-year-old cousin Deja'nae Gallion said.

Tyrone leaves behind a handful of younger siblings, including a two-month-old sister. His father said the little boy took his big brother role very seriously.

"All they keep asking me is where fat man is. Where is my brother? Where is

my brother? And all I tell my son is he still sleep. He's sleep," He said. "I can't keep telling my son he's asleep. They're going to keep asking for their brother."

As the family gathered in the spot the little boy was hit on Sunday, cars sped past. Reese shared the following message with the community.

"Just slow down. Y'all are in a rush to go nowhere, to go to jail. Y'all are in a rush to go to jail. Slow down. Y'all got to think about other people's kids," he said.

The suspected driver in the hit-and-run turned themselves into the police. The family has started a GoFundMe page to help with the funeral costs for the 11-year-old. To donate, click here.