Driver Sought In Hit-And-Run That Killed 88-Year-Old Vallejo Woman

VALLEJO (CBS13) - An 88-year-old grandmother was hit and left to die in a Vallejo crosswalk as she walked home from the store earlier this month and the driver hasn't been identified.

Clementina Funes made dinner for her family and took a walk to the corner store. On her way back, half a block from home, she was hit in this crosswalk by a driver who didn't have the heart to stop.

"I found her over there in front of that van right there," said Krystal Canotal, the woman's granddaughter.

Krystal has tried to avoid this painful place so close to home where she watched her beloved grandmother die.

"I made eye contact with her and I saw she was scared in her eyes," she said.

The force of the impact threw Clementina 15 yards across the street. She was literally fractured from head to toe and died at the hospital.

A week and a half later, the hit-and-run driver still hasn't come forward to Vallejo police.

"Just to think someone would have such a cold heart to leave an 88-year-old woman on the side of the street in the dark in the rain," Krystal said. "Who does that? It's scary to think we walk among these people who can actually do that."

Even at 88, Clementina was healthy, staying active gardening and cooking, a friend to many in her neighborhood.

"We always had a hug for each other," friend Marie Thurber said. "It's hard to take."

Krystal struggles to cope with how her grandma - the person she trusted with all of her secrets - was taken away so suddenly.

"When I needed advice I would come to her and we would have long talks, and now I don't have that," she said.

Family members drive around every day, searching for the suspect's car. Witnesses describe it as a silver 2001-2003 Mazda Protege. Police say it'll have significant driver's side damage and possibly a broken windshield.

"Please keep your eyes open, and you know, help us and be compassionate," Krystal pleaded with the public on Monday. "Understand where we're coming from."

The family talked with CBS13 on Monday hoping someone would remember seeing something and contact police. They've also posted flyers and a $10,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest.