Newark, N.J., family demands answers after teen killed by driver while walking home

A family in Newark, New Jersey, is demanding answers after a teenager was hit by a driver and killed Sunday night.

Police say Zakiyah Dansby, 17, was found dead at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Mt. Prospect Avenue just before 9 p.m. Her family says she was walking home from a local store at the time.

The state attorney general's office now investigating as some in the community claim her death was the result of a police pursuit of a stolen vehicle, but Mayor Ras J. Baraka says that is false.

In a statement, Baraka said, in part, "The vehicle was not stolen. The city of Newark also has a strict policy prohibiting vehicle pursuits except under limited circumstances involving serious offenses."

Authorities say one person turned themself in and is in custody, but questions remain about the circumstances surrounding Dansby's death.

"We don't have answers to that. We don't know if he was a drunk civilian," activist Khalil Tute said. "We don't know if he was just speeding down the street, racing. We don't know ... They didn't give us that information."

As the authorities do their work, Dansby's family is demanding action.

"I want him to serve. He took a life. His life should be taken, in jail," said Dansby's aunt Shawntae Walton.

"She's right here in my heart. She's never going to die," said Dansby's grandmother Ada Dansby. "I ain't going to stop it until I get justice."

Hundreds gathered Wednesday night at the intersection where Zakiyah Dansby was found dead to grieve, demand justice and remember a young life cut short.

"Can't even get a diploma. They took her. They took my grandbaby. They took her," Ada Dansby said. "She wasn't supposed to be dead."

"She was always happy. You know, she was just the life of the party," friend Zionee Butler said.

"She was amazing. She was young. Full and energetic," Ada Dansby said.

No charges have been announced for the driver at this time.