Police have arrested a man accused of driving under the influence when he struck and killed a father of five in Hollywood, and now the victim’s daughter is sharing her pain.
Speaking with 7News on Thursday, Kenisha Russell says her father. Kenny Russell, was loved by all..
“He was a loving man, a very family-oriented man,” she said. “He loved everybody, he was very loved. Oh, my God, sheesh.”
According to Hollywood Police, Kenny was killed in a Labor Day weekend crash last year.
Investigators said the suspect, 32-year-old Paul Negrin, was inebriated when he ran a red light and slammed into Kenny’s car at Sheridan Street and State Road 7 on Sept. 1, 2024.
Paramedics rushed Kenny to the hospital, but he wouldn’t make it.
Kenisha said her four older brothers broke the news to her.
“That’s when they told me that my daddy had been in an accident, and I was like, ‘Is he OK? Is he in a coma? What happened? Talk to me,’ and they couldn’t even get the words, and I just collapsed,” she said.
Police said Negrin’s blood alcohol level was .233, nearly three times the legal limit.
When they asked him where he was, the suspect stated, “Miramar Parkway and University [Drive],” according to the arrest report.
Detectives noted in the report that this intersection is “approximately six miles and two cities away,” from the scene of the crash.”
“It’s unthinkable, like every day, I’m in disbelief,” said Kenisha. “All I can do is just look at pictures.”
Thankfully, the devastated daughter has plenty of those, and memories, too.
Her favorite, she said, is catching and cooking fresh seafood back home in the Bahamas.
“We’d be like, ‘We caught a big fish, and we’re gonna go eat it.’ My father was a big chef in the kitchen,” she said.
Now Kenisha wants the man who police said is responsible for her father’s death to be held accountable.
“He took away a father, a grandfather, a husband,” she said.
Negrin is being held without bond at the Broward County Jail.