Anna Morsaw still has nightmares. She still finds it difficult to read the newspaper accounts. More than anything, Morsaw wonders how anyone could have left her son, 25-year-old mixed martial arts fighter Jordan Parsons, to die.
"I don't know what kind of person could do that," Morsaw said Thursday without mentioning the name of the Boca Raton man accused of killing her son in a hit-and-run in the early morning hours of May 1 in Delray Beach.
"He doesn't have a character, I would imagine," said Morsaw, who lives in Atlanta. "To hide and to do it for several days, I don't understand that."
Morsaw was among the relatives of crash victims at the Dori Saves Lives Foundation's "Staying Alive on Florida's Roadways" event Thursday night at the Benvenuto Restaurant. The families of crash victims Gabriella Heiderick, Jaden Reardon, Michael Fix, Richard Reyes and Jennifer Fracisous also spoke during the event, along with local officials and law-enforcement officers.
In brief, but emotional remarks, Morsaw called for stricter laws for habitual traffic offenders.
"I'm committed to doing whatever it takes to getting justice for Jordan," she said. "I hope this horrific tragedy will help bring focus on the ineffective laws for habitual offenders. This all could have been avoided if the driver had been behind bars where he belonged. It cost an innocent man his life."
Delray Beach Police arrested Dennis Wright of Boca Raton, 28, alleging that he plowed his mother's 2103 Range Rover Sport into Parsons as Parson was walking across Federal Highway at Lindell Boulevard shortly after midnight on May 1. A witness estimated Wright was travelling at speeds of 100 to 120 mph.
Wright was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death, DUI manslaughter, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and driving with a suspended license. He entered not guilty pleas to all charges on Monday, according to court records.
At Thursday night's event, Morsaw thanked the police officers who investigated her son's case and those who responded to the crash, including Officer Derek Chahine, who was among the first to render aid to Parsons.
About the Author
