Father Of Man Killed By Suspected Drunk Driver In Santa Monica Says His Son Was Treated Like 'Piece Of Trash'
SANTA MONICA (CBSLA) — The father of a man killed by a suspected drunk driver in Santa Monica last month said he will not rest until justice is done.
Donald Thomas Sr. suffered from excruciating pain as he tried to come to grips with his son's death. "To tell you the truth, I don't even know how we are going forward," he told CBS2's Tom Wait.
Donald Thomas Jr., 40, was feeding a parking meter outside the Santa Monica Courthouse on Main Street on March 21 when a suspected drunk driver plowed into him.
The victim was at the kiosk when a gray Toyota Camry came barreling into the parking lot, crashed through the lift gate and slammed into him.
Police said Absadi Kidane, 21, was likely high and drunk. After hitting the victim and crashing into a Corvette across Main Street, he took off running but was captured a short time later.
"This really burns me up to know that someone would treat my son like a piece of trash, run him over in the street and just leave him there and take off; that hurts," Thomas said. "He was my only son."
The victim's wife and three kids were heartbroken. His youngest daughter turned six years old the week he was killed.
"He loves his kids. He loves his wife very dearly. Everybody knows this is just the way he is," said the victim's father, who was trying to stay strong for the family, but nothing prepared him for this.
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As for his son's accused killer, there are few words for him.
"I would say to him a question that my wife is telling me all the time that she would like to know why... why would you do that to a human being?" Thomas Sr. asked as his eyes welled up with tears.
While Kidane remained locked up, there have been questions about whether this was an act of terrorism.
But as of now, the case is being treated as a felony drunk driving case, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
The family has since started a GoFundMe campaign for Thomas' widow.
