The family of a 14-year-old killed in a horrific hit-and-run crash in Hartford on Christmas Day was joined by the community on Wednesday for a candlelight vigil where he was remembered as a soft-spoken boy who loved his family and had his whole life in front of him.
“We can’t even count the number of lives that have been affected,” Spenser McGhee told the Courant ahead of the vigil to remember his nephew, Malachi James. “His classmates, his teachers, his friends, you know it’s like so much bigger than the family.”
Malachi and three family members were extricated from a Toyota Camry after the vehicle was involved in a head-on crash with a Tesla Cybertruck in the area of Cornwall Street and Hebron Street shortly before 9:20 p.m. on Dec. 25. All four victims suffered serious injuries, including Malachi’s 3-year-old niece, and were taken to a hospital where the teen was pronounced dead.
Police said they believe Malachi’s family was headed home going south on Cornwall Street when the driver of the Cybertruck, headed in the opposite direction, crossed into the southbound lane. The driver took off on foot after the crash and has not been charged, according to police.
A makeshift memorial could be seen at the site of the crash in the days that followed where stuffed animals, a basketball and candles were left. It also served as the site where family members held the candlelight vigil in the late afternoon hours Wednesday.
“There has been such an outpouring of support,” McGhee said. “It’s almost overwhelming. People who don’t even know you who have never met him are sending well wishes and, you know, just thoughts of prayers and sharing experiences of loved ones they’ve lost.”
Malachi, who lived in Middletown with his mother and went to school there, was very similar to his father, 50-year-old Thomas James, who was also injured in the crash, McGhee said.
“He would kill me for saying this, but Malachi was the sweetest kid ever,” McGhee said. “He very much had my brother’s personality. I think I’m more the extrovert type. They are more the soft-spoken kind of guy in the room. And that was kind of Malachi. You know, he was very soft-spoken, but he loved the family environment. He loved being around his cousins and his nieces.”
At family gatherings, Malachi was known to hug his grandmother and greet his grandfather before immediately asking where the food was, his family said. Though he could be reserved, his presence was always felt.
“Malachi walked in a room and you knew he was there without saying a word,” McGhee said. “You know that kind of person?”
McGhee said he believes the teen had the talent and charisma to be whatever he wanted in life.
“If he chose to be a senator, he was going to be the senator that shook every hand,” he said. “If he was a musician, he was going to be a musician that signed an autograph for every fan that stood in front of him. He was that kind of person.”
“And we now don’t have the opportunity to know what he would have become,” McGhee said. “That was taken from us.”
The family has started a GoFundMe after the crash, which left James in critical condition and seriously injured Malachi’s sister, Christiana, and his 3-year-old niece, Vaniya. The fundraiser had raised nearly $4,500 of its $5,500 goal as of Wednesday. A second fundraiser that was started had raised more $16,000 of its $20,000 goal.
According to McGhee, his brother has been heavily sedated with a breathing tube since the crash. He’s been responsive to medical staff but has not yet been able to speak.
“He is still very, very medicated,” McGhee said. “I don’t know if it’s as severe as an induced coma, but he has not effectively woken up. He is responsive to the nurses, so they are saying that’s a good sign. He responds to their touch. He responds to their commands, but he has a long, long road ahead of them.”
Christiana underwent successful surgery for a broken leg which required a rod and screws to be inserted, McGhee said. Vaniya, he said, suffered two broken arms and a broken leg. Her entire body is in a cast. They are each still hospitalized and will also have a long road to recovery.
Ever since the crash, McGhee said he has been in a “fog” and still hasn’t fully processed what has happened.
“You do what you’ve got to do, and you’re handling the things you have to handle, but the reason why you’re doing the things you’re doing still doesn’t connect,” he said.
The family is committed to seeking justice for Malachi and everyone who was wounded in the crash. Based on the “chaos” at the scene of the collision — which police described as a “horrific-looking accident” involving a “demolished” Camry — McGhee doesn’t see any way that the driver who fled could not have known that they were leaving behind multiple people who were in need of serious medical attention.
“We’ll ask him when we find him and we will find him,” Hartford Lt. Aaron Boisvert said at a news briefing last week when asked how someone could leave the scene of such a horrific crash.
“I know what they were thinking about,” McGhee said. “Themselves.”
According to Boisvert, investigators were able to identify the owner of the Cybertruck and have spoken to them. They do not believe that individual was driving the Tesla, which had not been reported stolen.
“For the person that did this, I hope they don’t think they can run and hide,” McGhee said.