Those were the words of despair from a man whose grandson is now fighting for his little life.
21-month-old Randiel Hoida is just like any toddler. Take your eyes off him for a second and he's on the run.
His parents say that's exactly what happened Sunday afternoon when their son ran into a Camden street and was hit by a car.
"I just want my baby to pull through," his mother, Alyshia Hoida, told Action News. "I want everything to be okay. I just want him to be himself again. I want to see him be awake."
Around 3:00 p.m. Sunday, Randiel was with his father inside the All-Star Barber Shop in the 400 block of North 27th Street. The boy walked out the door and into the street.
Hector Millan says he chased after his son and saw a speeding Buick Park Avenue run down his son.
"Oh, my God. Oh, man," he said. "It was just painful. It was the scariest moment of my life."
Investigators say the driver stopped briefly before taking off. Men from the barber shop chased after him but lost him at 31st and Harrison Streets, where he ditched the car.
Witnesses say it was a tan Buick Park Avenue 4-door sedan with temporary tags and damage to a right passenger door.
Randiel's mother, from Marlton, NJ, and his grandfather, from Clementon, NJ, rushed to Cooper University Hospital, where the boy was taken with internal injuries.
"It's just hard, and I don't understand how a human being could just hit a child and then just leave," said Alyshia. "I don't understand that. That's not a human being to me."
"He's not a person," said Raymond Hoida, the boy's grandfather. "He's an animal and I don't care how old he is, or young. He shouldn't be on the street."
Randiel's father is beating himself up. But he's begging someone to give up the man police say was driving that car.
"Me as a parent," he said, "I'm here to protect my child, you know what I mean? And I kind of feel like I failed."
Police are looking for an Hispanic man with a light beard.
Anyone with information on the driver's identity is urged to contact the Camden Police Department at (856) 757-7420. Information may also be emailed to ccpotips@ccprosecutor.org .
