HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A Virginia family is mourning the loss of the man police say was killed in a hit-and-run while riding his motorized wheelchair early Sunday morning, as they push for justice on what would have been his 66th birthday Thursday.
Henrico police say Larry Wilkerson was struck near Nine Mile Road and Echo Avenue. The driver did not stop. Authorities have since charged 21-year-old Edenilson Chen-Martinez and a 17-year-old in connection with the crash.
His niece, Shirlai Wilkerson, described her uncle as someone whose presence filled every room he entered.
"He was the life of the party. He walked in a room, he owned that room. He was a family man," Shirlai said.
For Shirlai, her uncle stepped into a role that went far beyond family.
"My father passed when I was younger, and Larry has been there ever since. I can remember, he was my uncle, but he was a father figure," Shirlai said.
A father of five, proud New Yorker, and car lover, Wilkerson was known for staying active and on the move, something his family says should have been possible without losing his life.
"He did not want to sit in the house, and it's like you should be able to do that with no problem. But unfortunately, things like this happen, and people don't realize that, that person has a family too that's going to be affected by this, and it's traumatic," Shirlai said.
The family says they are leaning on each other as they work through their grief.
"We're just really just trying to process this honestly as a family, trying to stick together and be strong," Shirlai said.
As they grieve, the family says their focus is on honoring Wilkerson's life and ensuring he receives justice.
"We just want to know that his life didn't go in vain. He lived a great life ... for the type of person that he was, he deserves some sort of justice in this case," Shirlai said.
The family is also asking the community for support during what they describe as a long road ahead.
"Keep us in your prayers. This is going to be a long road, we know, as far as everything that has to go on," Shirlai said.
The family is planning a private celebration of life Friday, remembering Wilkerson not for the way he died, but for how he lived.
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