New Haven Independent

The call went out near the intersection of Mansfield and Division Streets.

A crowd of nearly 100 people gathered there for a candlelight vigil Friday six nights after the crash, which killed 15 month-old baby Montez Turner Jr. in a hit-and-run accident last week. Three other people were in the car at the time of the accident, including the the child’s mother, Mauricia Stanley, 17. Stanley survived the crash and is in the hospital reportedly paralyzed from the waist down. Police are still looking for the driver of a dark blue 1998 to 2003 Mercedes Benz CLK-320 coupe. (Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 946-6316 or 946-6304.)

Everyone who attended the vigil Friday was given a candle to hold as they sang church hymns and recited scripture. Later, Montez’s grandmother Francine Stanley joined the crowd in prayer.

After the small ceremony she implored the hit-and-run driver who killed her grandson to turn himself in.

“Just let us forgive you,” Stanley said.

Montez’s great-aunt Teneshia Harrington (in video above) echoed Stanley’s sentiments.

“Please turn yourself in,” she said, “so when my nephew go into that ground he gonna be at peace.”

Members of the Christian Tabernacle Baptist Church in Hamden established two funds to help allay the family’s financial burden in the face of mounting medical bills and a funeral. Donations are being accepted for both the Montez Turner Jr. Memorial Fund and the Mauricia Stanley Medical Fund through Bank of America.