MIAMI – Police are searching for the driver who struck a 77-year-old woman as she was crossing the street and just kept going.
This is a woman who everyone in her neighborhood knows and loves. Now she’s in the hospital while the person that put her there is still at large.
Genesis Barrios told Local 10 News the woman who was hit was their grandmother, Edelmira Barrios, and that the family is shocked by what happened.
“I don’t know how you can see someone like that, elderly, on the floor, like you just hit them and you leave,” Genesis said. “She was just going to the store, she likes to walk around because she doesn’t drive. It was around 6 p.m. and it was like right around the corner and I guess just a car took a stop sign.”
In surveillance video from homes nearby, Edelmira, who’s known by her nickname, Mirita, can be seen beginning to cross Northwest 1st Street on 26th Avenue in Miami at around 6 p.m. Tuesday.
At the same time, a white Infiniti goes through the stop sign, right into the intersection, and plows into the woman.
A man named Derek, who did not want to be identified, said he watched the car drive off and leave the grandmother behind on the street.
“As I was walking out of my house I heard a loud bang,” he said.
While Derek was rushing over to help, Edelmira was nearly hit by another car. That driver slammed on the brakes just in time.
Emergency crews rushed the woman to the hospital where she’s now recovering.
Meanwhile, Genesis hopes the person who hit their grandmother gets caught soon.
“She’s ok I guess mentally, but she does have a hip fracture,” Genesis said. “I hope we find them or they come forward.”
Edelmira had surgery on Wednesday and once she is strong enough, will need to receive physical therapy.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for her medical bills, and that page can be found by clicking here.
Anyone with information about the hit and run is urged to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.