CHICAGO (WLS) — A vigil was held Saturday on the Southwest Side for a young woman who was killed in a hit-and-run crash last weekend.
According to her family, 22-year-old Marcela Herrera was hit by a vehicle while she and her fiancé were on their way home from work on the night of July 19, as reported by ABC7. Sadly, she passed away, while her fiancé sustained severe injuries, the Chicago police confirmed.
Family and neighbors are asking for tips to help find the driver.
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The accident took place near the intersection of South Ashland Avenue and West Cullerton Street. Authorities reported that the couple was walking along Ashland Avenue when a silver vehicle struck them and immediately fled the scene.
The young woman was immediately transported to the hospital, where she was later declared dead, according to police. Her 21-year-old fiancé was also taken to the hospital, where he remained in serious condition.
Herrera’s family said she had just finished working at the Tacos Y Tamales Festival in Pilsen. Her fiancé had just picked her up and they were walking to get dinner.
Herrera, one of six siblings, lived her life for her family, her relatives told ABC7.
Coming back to the very spot where Herrera and her fiancé were hit by a speeding car wasn’t just about remembering her life, but for her family, it was about making sure their calls for justice were heard, starting at the intersection that has brought them so much pain.
“We all keep saying that we feel like this is a nightmare,” Herrera’s cousin Montse Barrera said.
I saw the car speed past me… And, in a heartbeat, I saw the two people in the intersection, and I saw them hit them.
Each balloon tied and each flower and candle placed on the ground at the vigil did little to hide the heartache felt by Herrera’s family.
“I wish I could just take the pain away,” Barrera said. “I think it’s important for us to be here.”
Herrera’s younger brother, Francisco Herrera, said his favorite dance partner has now been ripped away.
“She always got her coffee, so we brought her her coffee, and this is the first time that I’ve come here,” he said.
Herrera and her fiancé were set to get married next month. Now her family is faced with planning her funeral while police try to track down the person responsible for her death.
“How is there a life without her? Because we grew up together,” Barrera said.
The driver sped away after hitting the engaged couple, police said. That’s when Lisa Pajon, a stranger, jumped out of her car, rushing to the couple left on the ground.
“I saw the car speed past me… And, in a heartbeat, I saw the two people in the intersection, and I saw them hit them,” Pajon said. “I was able to ask him if he was breathing, and he gave me a thumbs up. Then I went over to Marcela and she wasn’t responsive.”
Pajon, who tried to save Herrera’s life, joined her family in a full-circle moment, donning pink shirts at the Lower West Side intersection to create a reminder that their calls for justice won’t rest.
“We are trying to honor her in a way by making something beautiful out of it,” Barrera said. “We’re all united with her.”
Until police make an arrest, Herrera’s family plans to return to the intersection Sunday night to continue to get word out to neighbors here about the unsolved case.
The family has asked anyone with information that could help them to come forward.
No arrests have been made as the Chicago Police Department’s Major Accidents Investigation Unit continues to investigate.
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