Grandma killed in hit-and-run while getting tacos for her family, California cops say
A grandmother of six was killed in a hit-and-run as she crossed a California street with tacos she bought for her family, according to police and her family.
A driver in a dark sedan was traveling east on Gage Avenue in Bell Gardens when they struck the woman walking in a crosswalk the evening of Thursday, April 4, the Bell Gardens Police Department said in an April 5 news release posted to Facebook.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department pronounced the woman dead on scene, police said.
The woman, identified by family as Janet Young, 62, was out turning in some lottery tickets at a liquor store, her niece, Priscilla Long, told McClatchy News in an April 8 phone interview.
Afterward, Long said the mother of six stopped by a taco stand to pick up dinner for her family and headed home.
“She was in the crosswalk,” Young’s daughter, Ramona Moreno, told KCAL at a vigil Sunday, April 7. “She shouldn’t have been hit, and they should have stopped. They should have stopped.”
Long described her aunt, who grew up in Bell Gardens and loved playing bingo, as “selfless.”
“She would give her shirt off her back to anybody,” Long said.
Young’s grandchildren were her “pride and joy.”
“If it was possible, I think she loved them even more than she loved her kids,” Long said.”
Even when tragedy struck, like when Young lost her home in a fire three years ago, Long said “nothing ever stopped her.”
“She was always the happy one in the room, regardless of what she was going through,” Long said.
Young never bothered getting a driver’s license, Long said.
Instead, “she was always on her feet,” so much so everyone in the community knew her, according to Long.
This, Long said, was evident by the sheer number of people who came out to her vigil at the intersection where she was killed.
“A lot of friends that we didn’t even know she had showed up,” Long said. “As sad as it was, it was a very happy moment.”
While Long said she forgives the driver who struck Young, she wants them to “come forward and do the right thing.”
“We just hope that you (the driver) can take responsibility for your actions,” Long said.
Young’s son, Jason Young, echoed the sentiment, saying he too forgives the driver in an interview with KTLA.
“I think that’s probably what my mom would want me to do,” the son told the outlet
Police said the collision is under investigation, and anyone with information is asked to contact police at 562-806-7619.
Bell Gardens is about an 11-mile drive southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
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