Mourners gathered at University Park to mourn the death of an elderly woman who was killed in a hit-and-run. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News on May 2, 2024.
As police continue searching for the driver who struck two women Thursday in University Park, the loved ones of the woman who was killed in the crash gathered at the site of the hit-and-run to mourn her death.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, the hit-and-run crash was reported at 1:18 p.m. on the 2600 block of Magnolia Avenue. There, a driver backing out of a private driveway hit two women and then fled the scene eastbound on 25th Street.
The woman who was killed in the crash was described by the LAPD as an 80-year-old woman, but her relatives identified her as 74-year-old Estella Gomez. The mourners identified the surviving woman as 82-year-old Maria Ortiz, who was Gomez's cousin.
"My mom pushed the other lady away so she wouldn’t get killed, but she still got hurt," said Miguel Gomez, Estella's son. "The lady is in the hospital; my mom’s cousin."
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Candles now lay at the site where Estella was killed. The woman was remembered as being a beloved grandmother.
"My mom was a wonderful person," Miguel said. "She used to like going to church. She was good to her neighbors. She was a wonderful mother, she didn’t deserve to die like this."
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A detailed description of the driver in the hit-and-run was not immediately available, but police believe they may have been traveling in a white van.
"I hope that the person who did this comes forward and if it was an accident, then it's not fair what he did. He just doesn’t care about anybody," Miguel said.
