Woman Cradling 3-Year-Old Baby Struck, Killed In Playa Del Rey Hit-And-Run
PLAYA DEL REY (CBSLA) — A search was underway for the hit-and-run driver who killed a woman in Playa Del Rey and injured her 3-year-old son.
The victim was struck by a dark-colored Chevrolet Equinox around 10:30 p.m. Saturday while crossing Vista Del Mar to get to her vehicle.
At the time, the woman was cradling her baby, who was taken to a hospital and was expected to be OK. As of Sunday, he had been released.
The deceased was identified as Wendy Galdamez Palma, 33, of Downey. Galdamez was married with two boys, ages 3 and 4.
"Bring some justice to this family who at this moment needs some answers for their kids, for her husband, for her familym" said Melvin Barrientos, the victim's cousin.
A day after the tragic incident, some neighbors are saying that something needs to be done about people speeding down Vista Del Mar.
"Nobody respects the speed limit here," said a neighbor Adolfo Navarro. "I mean, you'll see the cops on motorcycles here during the day enforcing it, but at night, it's...you can hardly see because the lights don't even gloom right and then you can only see as far as you can using your headlights."
Investigators said the driver of the dark-colored sedan did not stop at all after hitting two people.
Members of Galdamez's family showed up at the scene early in the morning. While they did not want to speak on camera, they said that 33-year-old mother shielded her son with her own body, protecting her son from the car that killed her.
Prayers and condolences to her family, and that poor child is going to have some pain to work through as he grows up without a mom," neighbor Amil Gibbs said.
At the time of the crash, her 4-year-old was with his father. The family had spent time at the beach and were walking to their car when the hit-and-run occurred.
"Hopefully, whoever did this can own up to it, turn themselves in," Gibbs said.
The crash remains under investigation by the LAPD for felony hit-and-run. The suspect vehicle is believed to have sustained significant front-end damage. Anyone with more information was asked to call the LAPD.
A GoFundMe account has been set up for the victim's family.
