CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. - For the first time, the family of Alex Teehee is speaking out about the arrest of a man accused of killing him.

Ralph Loosman, the man accused of running him over and killing him, was arrested Thursday night in Las Vegas.

For Carol Teehee, it was a phone call she waited a year and a half for.

"He said, 'we got him. We got Loosman.' I don't hardly remember the conversation now. It was just overwhelming."

The call came from Denise Amber Lee's father, Rick Goff.

"There's a lot of sadness when you celebrate anything because he's not here, even celebrating this. He's not here."

The entire Teehee family was together in Port Charlotte, celebrating two birthdays - Alex's sister and nephew. They think the arrest was a sign from Alex.

"He wanted to tell his sister happy birthday and his nephew happy birthday. It was fantastic."

In July 2008, Alex was hit once, the driver made a u-turn, and he was hit again. From that day, the Teehee family searched for answers, but always had suspicions about Loosman - so did the sheriff's office.

"He was one of the original names that keep coming up right away in the first part of the investigation."

For the Teehee's, it's still not over.

"It's not a conviction yet, it's just an apprehension."

The Teehee family hopes this arrest leads to the arrests of the other two people in the car that hit and killed Alex.

Carol Teehee believes her son got into an argument with Loosman before Alex was killed.

Loosman is charged with manslaughter and vehicular homicide.