A tragic hit-and-run crash in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles claimed the life of a 73-year-old woman and sent another 83-year-old woman to the hospital Thursday, authorities confirmed to KTLA.
Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to calls of the fatal accident near the intersection of West Adams Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue at around 1:20 p.m.
Details are limited, but police say the hit-and-run suspect, who fled eastbound on West 25th Street, was backing out of a driveway on private property when they struck the victims, identified by family members as Estella Gomez and her cousin Maria Ortiz.
Family told KTLA’s Mary Beth McDade that the women had just gotten off the Metro bus around 1 p.m. After exiting the bus at Adams Boulevard and Magnolia Avenue, the two women began walking home and were just a block away when they were run over by a suspect in a white van.
Footage of the crash scene captured by Sky5 showed several police cruisers blocking access to Magnolia Avenue, which was cordoned off by yellow crime scene tape.
In the street just off the sidewalk where the crash occurred, a canopy covered the body of Estella who died at the scene.
Medical personnel with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene and rushed Ortiz to a nearby trauma center, where she was listed in critical condition.
“She was a wonderful lady. She didn’t deserve to die like this,” said Estella’s son, Miguel Gomez, who was unable to hold back his tears. “She helped everyone. She was wonderful.”
Miguel said his mother was a strong woman from El Salvador who raised five children on her own while working as a cleaning lady at Macy’s.
“She raised us without a dad because my dad passed away many years ago,” he said.
The grieving family gathered Thursday night at the site of the crash to remember their beloved mother and are now asking for the public to help them find justice.
“We just want to ask the public that if they have any information – my understanding was that it was a white van backing up that hit her – please contact the police immediately,” said Angie Lopez, Estella’s niece.
Anyone with any information about the incident is urged to contact the Los Angeles Police Department.
While authorities have not released a description of the suspect’s vehicle, the family told KTLA that police are looking for a white van.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help Gomez’s family pay for funeral expenses.