8-year-old Dallas boy hit by suspected drunken driver while riding scooter

DALLAS - A Dallas man charged with murder and DWI for running over and killing a boy on a scooter has been previously convicted of DWI.

The accident happened just after 7 p.m. Monday at the Bella Vista Apartments off Dilido Road near I-30 and Buckner Boulevard in Far East Dallas.

The 8-year-old victim, Kaden Rainwater, was riding the scooter inside his apartment complex when he was hit and killed.

Family of man killed by hit-and-run drivers in Dallas searching for answers

Police say 30-year-old Miguel Martinez is the man who hit Kaden and is now charged with murder and DWI.

Responding officers described Martinez’s eyes as glassy, his skin clammy and his breath smelled like alcohol.

Martinez allegedly told police he was only driving 5 to 10 miles per hour in the parking lot, felt a "bump" and then stopped. A 9-year-old boy was in the car with him. He told police he was returning from picking up the child from BH Macon School.

According to arrest documents, police recovered six cans of Modelo inside Martinez's 1992 Chevy pickup. Police documents also say he admitted to smoking marijuana earlier in the day.

Public records also revealed an extensive criminal history involving drugs and alcohol dating as far back as 2009. That includes three DWI convictions in 2012, 2015 and 2016. Martinez served prison time, and it’s unclear when he was most recently released.

Miguel Martinez

"He’s playful. He loved people. He had many friends, and I am going to miss him," said Kaden’s grandmother, Beverly Sosa. "Kaden was the glue to the family. He thought he was the daddy of the family."

Kaden’s family didn’t want to talk about the case, only about the boy who was taken too soon. They are waiting for more answers but are comforted in knowing little Kaden left his mark on many lives. 

"I am just holding it in, just holding it in. It’s got to come out sometime. I know God makes no mistakes. I know he is safe. We know where he is. Just gotta wait to see him," Sosa said. "We are going to miss him. He was not 8; he was 18. But he was our little Kaden."

Martinez is being held on a $600,000 bond.