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Still seeking driver, loved ones remember 17-year-old Osceola County hit-and-run victim

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — With the driver of a dark-colored vehicle involved in a fatal Osceola County hit-and-run crash still on the loose, the family and friends of the 17-year-old victim came together Monday for a vigil in his honor.

Joyvan Ventura Villafane was walking along Orange Blossom Trail near Hope Street Saturday night when he was hit by the vehicle, which fled the scene, Florida Highway Patrol troopers said.

The aspiring basketball player’s mother told Channel 9 that when her dog was hit and killed, the driver stopped and offered to pay for everything.

The person who hit her son, though, just kept going, she said.

Villafane’s sister-in-law, Dulce Elvir, had a hard time believing someone could kill another person and not even stop.

“The person that hit him and left the scene, I mean, don’t you have a conscience?” she asked.

Candles and balloons marked the spot where he was killed, and his loved ones decided to mourn him, and remember him, by doing what he loved so much in life: Playing basketball.

In honor of his little brother, Felix Medina wore a shirt bearing the number 23, which was Villafane’s favorite.

Medina is one of three siblings Villafane left behind, and he said his family was struggling with what happened.

“It’s a hard situation right now,” he said. “Right now, I cannot even describe this moment. I don’t even believe it.”

Villafane planned to try out for the Poinciana High School basketball team during his upcoming senior year, and Medina was grieving because that would not happen now.

“He promised me, ‘Hey, I’m going to be on the basketball team,’” Medina said.

“He wanted to be somebody in his life,” Elvir added.

Trooper said the vehicle, which may be a dark-colored SUV or sedan with front-end damage, left the road for an unknown reason and traveled onto the shoulder before hitting Villafane Saturday night.

Anyone with information on the crash or identity of the driver is asked to contact the Florida Highway Patrol, or Crimeline, at 800-423-TIPS.