Families Of UM Students Killed By Car Speak Out From China
SOUTH MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The families of Ying Chen and Hao Liu are thousands of miles away from South Florida, but they are heartbroken over what happened to their loved ones.
The families of both University of Miami students spoke to CBS4's Maggie Newland from China via Skype.
"We have been missing her so much. We're missing her every single day and night," said Li Chen, Ying Chen's sister. "We feel in pain. All these days we cry with broken hearts."
As Li Chen spoke, her mother sobbed and clutched pictures of her daughter who was killed in a car crash in October along with fellow UM student Hao Liu.
They were hit by a car while crossing the street.
"Her life was gone in such a tragic and unjust way," said Li Chen. "For my parents and Hao's parents, the pain deep in their hearts cannot be described with any words."
As they lay dying, a Pinecrest Police officer who arrived at the scene stood with her hands in her pockets while an off-duty Miami Police officer, who happened to be driving by, stopped to perform CPR on one of the victims.
"She did not help. She stood there with her hands in her pockets watching," said Li Chen.
The Pinecrest officer, Ana Carrasco, was accused of failing to render aid.
Earlier in the week she learned she will keep her job with Pinecrest police.
Carrasco said she did not touch the victims because she gave her gloves to the Miami officer.
According to the Village of Pinecrest, there were other mitigating circumstances that allowed her to keep her job, but she will be suspended for 20 days without pay and required to take a first responder training class.
The students' families said that punishment is not enough.
"We think that the police should be fired immediately," said Chen. Through a translator, Hao Liu's mother, Shen Ping, sobbing as she remembered her son said, "We think she's not on duty and she should be fired."
Both families said they feel helpless and hopeless. The driver in the case has not been charged.
The families said they have received little information about the investigation into the crash and say they want justice for the young lives lost.
