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New Video In La Mirada Hit-And-Run Which Killed Grandmother, Injured Grandchildren

LA MIRADA (CBSLA) — Investigators Tuesday released new surveillance video in the hopes of identifying a male driver who was involved in a hit-and-run which killed a grandmother and critically injured her two grandchildren while they were walking home from school last month in La Mirada.

New Video In La Mirada Hit-And-Run Which Killed Grandmother, Injured Grandchildren
Surveillance video just prior to a hit-and-run crash in La Mirada which occurred on Feb. 20, 2019, and killed Maria "Carmen" Chavarria, a grandmother, and injured her two grandchildren. (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department)

On the afternoon of Feb. 20, Maria "Carmen" Chavarria was walking her two grandchildren, a 7-year-old boy and 9-year-old girl, home from Escalona Elementary School, when all three were struck by a sedan in the 14800 block of Escalona Road, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reports. The suspect left them wounded on the side of the road and sped away.

Chavarria died from her injuries. Her two grandchildren survived.

Witnesses described the suspect as a male. Based on witness statements, the suspect may have been distracted and speaking on a cell phone at the time of the crash, Capt. James Tatreau said at a news conference Tuesday. There's no sidewalk in the area they were struck, and the three were forced to walk on the side of the road.

New Video In La Mirada Hit-And-Run Which Killed Grandmother, Injured Grandchildren
Surveillance video just prior to a hit-and-run crash in La Mirada which occurred on Feb. 20, 2019, and killed Maria "Carmen" Chavarria, a grandmother, and injured her two grandchildren. (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department)

"We need the public's help on this," Tatreau said. "This hit-and-run left two children injured and on the street alone with their grandmother, who was dying, while waiting for us to respond to this call."

The suspect vehicle was described as a dark gray 2015 to 2017 four-door Toyota Camry with front-end damage to the passenger side fender and headlight area.

Chavarria leaves behind her husband, three children and 15 grandchildren.

New Video In La Mirada Hit-And-Run Which Killed Grandmother, Injured Grandchildren
A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department news conference on March 26, 2019, regarding a hit-and-run crash in La Mirada which occurred on Feb. 20, 2019, and killed Maria "Carmen" Chavarria, a grandmother, and injured her two grandchildren. (LASD/Twitter)

"We need justice for my mom," Chavarria's daughter told reporters. "What this person has done is heartless and it's inhumane. And it's not fair that he gets to wake up every single day and live life like nothing happened, and we can't do that."

New grainy surveillance video of the car has been released.

"We've had our technical crew working on this to try and enhance the video best as we can," Tatreau said. "It's still an investigation in process, so, we're working on it."

The city of La Mirada is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information can call Los Angeles Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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