Son of fallen Good Samaritan remembers father

A local man is remembering his father as a kind-hearted, loving person a month after he was shot and killed while acting as a Good Samaritan to intervene in a domestic dispute. 

“He literally didn’t even have a dad, and he’s going in and stepping up and literally dying a hero,” Dawson Hill said in a phone interview with The Apopka Chief. “And he taught me how to be a dad.” 

Apopka’s Raul Lionel Vasquez, 26, was charged with the murder of Daryl Alexander Hill, 56, last month. Vazquez allegedly shot Hill after he had attempted to intervene in a fight between Vazquez and Kaidy Honaker inside a white Chevrolet Silverado near the intersection of Plymouth Sorrento and West Ponkan roads.  

Daryl Hill left behind several family members, including son Dawson Hill, who reflected fondly on his childhood. He recalled how involved his father was in his life, whether through supporting his scouting journey or taking him fishing. 

“He also had an ATV, and we’d ride around on the four-wheelers,” he said. “He taught me how to pop wheelies on the four-wheelers even when I was a little kid.” 

Dawson said his father “would take the clothes off his back to give them to you,” sacrificing “a lot of stuff and a lot of money that he probably didn’t have to come up with money for me, even when I was going through stuff.” 

One particular memory he had of his father’s self-sacrifice related to when he crashed his car while driving up to Pennsylvania. 

“It had just started pouring rain to where I couldn’t even see anything,” he said. “I crashed, and then he had to deal with all that stuff, and I got a citation. He was trying to pay it off, and I’m just like, ‘No, I paid it off’… So he was like, ‘I’m gonna try and come up with some money for a bike’… he came up with $100 for the bike.” 

Even after the crash, his father’s generosity allowed him to finish his trip to Pennsylvania.  

“I had crashed my truck, and I still went there, because he somehow got me a train to Pennsylvania,” he said. “Even just that — that’s even crazy to me.” 

Dawson is now 26 and has since moved back to Florida. On the day of his father’s death, he remembers receiving messages of support from friends and wondering what happened. He found out after calling his stepmom and soon received a text message from his younger sister, Daphne, who has autism. 

“She said, ‘Hey, I heard the news. I’m so sad. I love you in a not weird way,’” he said. “So I said, ‘Love you too, sis, and I’m sad too, and trying not to be mad or anything. Trying my best to remember he would just want us to be happy as much as we can. So just try your best to do that,’ with a black heart emoji and told her, ‘I’m always here to talk.’” 

In one sense, when Dawson found out about his father’s death, he understood the reason for his father’s generosity. 

“As soon as he passed, I’m just immediately understanding why he was the way that he was,” he said. “He always made sure that everybody felt loved, and that’s why he stepped in that one time.” 

But at the same time, he knew he would not have done what his father did. 

“I would never be in that situation,” he said. “I would just never would be riding my bike, dropping off my kid… but he also might have did that because he always put the spotlight on everybody else.” 

In the meantime, Dawson is grateful for the community support and that he has been able to eat and complete chores again after feeling “debilitated.” 

“It’s nice that I’m getting back to my life, but it still obviously is going to affect me for the rest of my life,” he said. “He would want me to be eating through this and be as happy as I can… He would never ever want me to feel anything but joy and as happy as I could ever feel in my life, like ever, during whatever would happen… That’s my best that I can do is by honoring him by doing that, when and where I can. Try and make it 24/7. Try and be the light.” 

A GoFundMe page for Hill’s wife and daughter has raised more than $41,000.