One week after a hit-and-run that left three people dead on Chicago's Far South Side, the victims' loved ones and LGBT-plus community stood in unity as they pleaded for the driver to come forward.
The mother of Donald Huey joined loved ones of Devontay Vivetter and Jaylen Ausley to honor the young men with love and candles during a healing circle at the Rainbow Beach Fieldhouse in South Chicago.
"I'm devastated," said Charlita Riley, Huey's mother. "I want justice for my son Donald, and the other families."
Ausley, who was also killed in the hit-and-run, was a light in the lives of children at Gary Comer Youth Center, according to relatives. He was a recent graduate of the University of Michigan.
"Jaylen Ausley, an outstanding, wonderful man," a relative said. "Set out to do things in the world, had accomplished so much already in his short lifetime."
Curtis Henderson, a cousin of Ausley's, said he was the perfect example of what people should set out to be.
"You ask anyone that came across him, they talk about his loving spirit," Henderson said.
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One week ago, the three men were hit and killed by a speeding vehicle while they stood outside Jeffrey's Pub, a gay bar on the Far South Side. Dashcam footage taken from a nearby vehicle showed the frightening scene unfold. Several people are in the street, with several engaged in a physical altercation, when a car comes into view.
The vehicle ultimately hit four of the men at a high rate of speed, then fled from the scene.
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All four men were taken to area hospitals, with three succumbing to their injuries, according to police.
Following the men's deaths, members of the LBGTQ-plus community are now asking for help.
"All of these were boys fighting injustice, they were fighting a lack of love, they were fighting a lack of community, a lack of intentional support, which is what the South Side's Black Queer community is lacking," said Jae Rice with Brave Space Alliance.
Chicago police have since found the car involved, but the driver has yet to be located. While the hit-and-run appears to be intentional, police aren't investigating the incident as a hate crime.
