Family seeking answers after grandfather killed by hit-and-run driver in South LA
A family is desperately searching for answers after their beloved patriarch was killed in a hit-and-run crash early last week in South Los Angeles.
Alberto Castañeda Aco, 72, was struck by a hit-and-run driver at the intersection of Main Street and Adams Boulevard at around 6 p.m. the evening of Jan. 3, according to Los Angeles Police Department officers.
They say that the crash happened when the driver of a car stolen from Upland the week before flew through a red light and clipped another car going through the intersection before veering off the road and crashing into Aco who was on his way home from work.
Aco was taken to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead after succumbing to injuries suffered in the crash.
Family members now mourn the man known fondly as "Campeon," for his aspirations to become a boxer as he grew up in Mexico.
"My dad was a hard-working man. He was always smiling and joking around,"said Aco's daughter, Martha Correa, holding back emotions. "When we got to the hospital we were unable to see him. He died already, he was already gone."
Investigators are still searching for the suspects, only described as three males in their 20s wearing dark clothing and driving a black Honda.
"They could have stayed, they could have at least rendered some aid, at least provide some support or help but they didn't do that," Correa said. " In no way did they turn to see my dad, they just left."
A photo taken by a witness at the scene shows the suspects carrying a tank and a filled balloon.
"They were carrying a tank, they were huffing and using balloons to drug themselves and they killed my father," Correa said.
The family has started a GoFundMe to seek helping paying for funeral expenses for the man who leaves behind five children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Most importantly though, they're hoping for justice.
"They're the ones who decided to steal a vehicle. They're the ones who decided to use drugs and joy riding. But those decisions have consequences," Correa said. "They'll be caught one way of another, they'll be caught."