A family is reeling from the loss of a 9-year-old boy who was hit and killed by a truck last Wednesday.
Another challenge they are facing is trying to understand why local police in the City of South Fulton have not arrested or charged the driver, a decision that intensifies their grief.
The boy, A’Cariyon Perry, had gone to get ice cream with a group of children. While attempting to cross the street to return home, a car sped around the truck and struck the elementary student, tragically ending his young life.
D’Estin Perry, her husband, Albert Tillman, and the rest of their family are now mourning the loss of their 9-year-old son, and his premature death has turned their “whole world upside down.”
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The mother, who was at work, wishes that her son had waited before going out for dessert.
She also mentioned that when authorities responded to their home on Creel Road after the accident, A’Cariyon was already dead.
“By the time they arrived, the blood was so bad that he had to have been speeding because it was on impact. His heart had already stopped,” Perry told WAGA-TV FOX5 Atlanta.
The driver has not been charged with the killing, and Perry is furious. She took to Facebook, criticizing authorities for allowing the person responsible for A’Cariyon’s death to remain free.
“This is unacceptable,” she wrote. “He didn’t even get a ticket; they let this person walk right home like he didn’t kill my child.”
Tillman, the boy’s father, tried to make sense of what happened.
“The ice cream truck went by, and like most kids, he wanted some ice cream, so he came outside and went to the ice cream truck,” Tillman said, adding that the next thing he knew, his child was hit.
“He hit him. I’m not sure if he was paying attention or something,” the dad said in an interview with WSB-TV.
A GoFundMe was set up by the family to help with expenses. The family has raised $9,035 out of the $20,000 goal.
D’Estin Perry, who initiated the campaign, described her son as “sweet, loving, caring, innocent, and loved by all who knew him.”
Perry said A’Cariyon was the youngest of all his siblings and “had a bright, promising future ahead of him.”
She also admitted that she was at a loss for words and felt numb.
One thing she can’t understand is why police have not moved to get justice for her son.
“The man who caused this pain is still walking the streets with no charges brought against him,” she said on the profile.
The South Fulton Police Department is currently investigating whether charges will be filed.
While the family waits for those answers, A’Cariyon’s father wants people to know how important it is to tell loved ones what they mean to you.
“Don’t take today and tomorrow for granted,” Tillman said. “Many say, ‘I will see you tomorrow,’ but that’s not promised. You put your child on the bus, and you just assume you will see them get off the bus.”
