MILWAUKEE -- Officials have charged a 20-year-old man for the hit-and-run death of Tyann Bunch last summer.
Devontae Coleman is accused of hitting Bunch with his car in August as she was crossing Fond du Lac Avenue near 23rd Street.
Coleman made his first court appearance Tuesday, charged with second degree reckless homicide, hit and run resulting in death and knowingly operating a motor vehicle while suspended, causing death.
A criminal complaint in the case shows that police linked Coleman to the crash after they matched DNA found on the driver's side door, the gear shift and the steering wheel to a DNA sample Coleman submitted in a separate case.
Tasha Bunch, Tyann's mother, said she knew about a week after the accident that Coleman was a suspect but couldn't say anything until the DNA results came back. She said her daughter was running errands that day.
"I stay up all night just be thinking," Tasha said. "Me seeing a picture of him and knowing who he was, am I going to bump into him out in the street?"
Tasha now has a purple urn in her home with her daughter's ashes. Purple because that was Tyann's favorite color.
"I want justice served for my daughter, I really do," she said. "And I'm getting it now."
According to a criminal complaint, Coleman was driving a tan Cadillac when he hit Tyann Bunch as she crossed the street. A police officer happened to be in the area and saw the car continue driving without stopping.
"Now we can start grieving," said Tasha. "We could be at peace now because I know he's off the street."
If convicted on all counts, Coleman could face up to 56 years in prison.
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