A grieving mother is urging the driver of a hit-and-run to "come clean" after her 4-year old daughter was killed, and her 5-year-old-son was left in critical condition from a Friday night car crash in the Harbor City neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Adrianna Rodriguez told local news outlets that she couldn't believe her baby girl has been killed.
"She was born a premie, two months early," Rodriguez told CBSLA of her daughter Jayda. "Thirty-nine days in the hospital and this his how she gets. Whoever did this, please come clean, turn yourself in. Took a poor innocent baby."
The crash occurred at 8:20 p.m. near the intersection of Normandie and Vermont avenues when another vehicle made an illegal U-turn in front of Rodriguez's family, reported CBSLA. The father, Robert Sanchez, swerved his pickup truck to avoid a collision, causing their vehicle to rollover multiple times and crash into a light pole. Several witnesses told CBSLA that the driver who made the U-turn quickly fled the scene, while others rushed to help those in the crashed vehicle.
"There was about six or seven of us that pushed the car to pull the little girl from under it, and once we pulled her from under and cleared her out, that's when the father became coherent," witness Vernell Mosley told the news outlet.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said the two children, Jayda and Robby Sanchez, where then taken to the hospital with their father. The girl was pronounced dead at the hospital, while the boy and father are being treated for serious injuries, ABC7 reported.
By Saturday, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said the driver of the other vehicle remained at large and a description of the car was not immediately made available, ABC7 reported. Though the crash was not a typical hit-and-run collision, police are still considering it this type of crime because the actions of the driver led to the deadly event, and the individual did not stay at the scene to help, CBSLA reported.
A memorial of candles and balloons at the intersection of the crash was set up to honor Jayda. A GoFundMe Page has been also been created by the young girl's great aunt to help pay for funeral costs.
"This accident has affected our family in ways you could never imagine. On behalf of their mother Adriana Rodriguez and their father Robert Sanchez we ask for your kind and loving donations. We thank everyone for their prayers and love," the page, set up by Yvonne Maclean states.
By Sunday morning, the fundraiser had received nearly $20,000.
Newsweek contacted the LAPD for additional comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
