San Diego police launched a search Thursday for a hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a woman in Otay Mesa.
The deadly hit-and-run happened just after 9 a.m. at Otay Mesa and Cactus roads, just south of the Brown Field Municipal Airport.
San Diego Police Department Lt. Duane Voss told NBC 7 police believed a driver in a four-door silver Nissan Altima was traveling westbound on Otay Mesa Road as a woman was walking south in the roadway. The driver hit the woman and fled the scene.
The pedestrian, identified by the Medical Examiner's Office as 21-year-old Brescia Ayon, died at the scene.
Voss said police were not able to immediately locate the hit-and-run suspect. Detectives will be looking to see if any nearby businesses captured images of the suspect’s car on surveillance cameras.
The lieutenant said he thinks the car likely has some damage to its front-end from the impact of hitting the victim.
Local
The investigation is ongoing.
At the scene, behind the yellow tape, NBC 7 could see members of the victim's family speaking with police. A woman cried and hugged an officer as they spoke; the officers consoled the family.
“We’ll try to find some closure for the victim,” Voss added.
Co-workers of Ayon said she lived in Tijuana but worked at a Subway restaurant blocks away from where she was hit.
"She took one step and this guy just ran right through the red light and plowed right into her. Didn't even stop or nothing," said Randy McKinley, who works at the convenience store at the corner.
His surveillance footage shows him and others rushing to help Ayon. McKinley estimated the car was going 80 to 90 mph.
"Her gym shoes were 75 feet from where he hit her. That's how hard he hit her," he said.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest. Anyone with information can contact SDPD's Traffic Division at (858) 495-7807 or the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at (888) 580-8477.
