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Family speaks out after deadly hit-and-run

Posted at 6:53 PM, Oct 16, 2015
and last updated 2015-10-16 21:53:41-04
A family is in mourning after adeadly hit-and-run.
 
27-year-old Michael Richards is dead as a result of the crash. The driver of the vehicle is behind bars.
 
It happened Thursday night on a residential road near Fort Apache and Desert Inn. 
 
The Richards family spent Friday at the scene to look at marks on the ground that note where investigators found Michael’s body.
 
His brother-in-law, Anthony Hoyes, tells Action News, "He was just a ball of energy, a very positive person. He just was always having a good time."
 
Friday, his children sent him a message of love by releasing balloons toward heaven, where they say he's resting in peace.
 
"More than anything, he just loved being a father to his daughters,” Hoyes said. “I think they knew that in return and it was just a lot of love."
 
Police say it all began as a verbal altercation between Richards and 40-year-old Christopher Sacca.
 
They say Sacca tried to leave the scene in his SUV, but Richards grabbed on to the moving vehicle before losing his grip and falling underneath. The car struck him and fled. 
 
"He grabbed onto the car, or was on the car trying to tell him no, and I guess whenever he left the car just kind of sucked him under and he got ran over," Hoyes told Action News.
 
Sacca was arrested at his home and faces DUI and hit-and-run charges. Hoyes says Sacca was a family friend, and he knows it was an accident.
 
"Accidents happen, you know, it's just one of them things,” Hoyes said.
 
Sacca's father spoke to Action News off camera.  He says his son Chris is a good guy  with a very giving heart.  He simply made a mistake.