KENTWOOD, Mich. — Dozens of people gathered and released balloons Thursday night in memory of Samuel Sterling. Sterling was the 25-year-old man hit and killed by an unmarked police cruiser in a Kentwood parking lot exactly one year ago.
Friends and supporters all gathered alongside family of Sterling, who are still coping and struggling with not just his death and they way it happened but with the system tasked with bringing justice.
"When (Brian Keely) gets convicted it'll still never bring me closure because it won't bring my baby back," said Andrica Cage, Sterling's mother. "No justice in this world is going to bring my child back. I would give up everything to have my baby back."
There were still moments of joy Thursday night for Cage, as Sterling's music was played in the parking lot where a makeshift memorial remains. The happiness though, shrouded by the grief of a mother still coping with the death of her son. Cage spoke with Fox 17 on the one year mark. While she hopes the justice system works in favor for her son she wants Sterling's story to be a reminder to everyone else.
"I want everybody to open their eyes. This is not just my son. This is everybody's son. It could be anybody."
At the vigil, supporters encouraged those able to attend the next hearing to travel to the federal courthouse in Lansing. An evidentiary hearing is set for April 21 at 9 a.m. Supporters plan to travel together, leaving from the same Burger King parking lot where the vigil was held.
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