Family Seeks Answers After Hit-And-Run Freeway Death Just Before Thanksgiving

POMONA (CBSLA.com) — Sandra Sanchez has pictures of her 36-year-old son fanned out across her living room.

"I never thought I'd have to be staring at these pictures so much," Sanchez said. "It's not like a moment that I think about how he died.  And how he was left for dead."

Dwayne Armenta was hit and killed on the 10 Freeway near the Kellogg Drive off-ramp in Pomona when he walked across the westbound lanes, the California Highway Patrol said.

He apparently tried to get to the other side after his truck broke down or ran out of gas.

His son says he'll miss his dad's uplifting humor.

"When you were down and you needed to laugh, he was there to make you laugh," Devin Armenta said.

For now, the only description the CHP has of the car that hit Armenta is a dark sedan.

A witness said the driver pulled over for just a moment after the accident but then drove away.

It happened the day before Thanksgiving.

"I don't know how this person sat with their family for Thanksgiving and ate with them knowing what they did," Armenta's sister Melinda Bustos said.

"You know now every holiday we're going to be reminded that we don't have our brother during this time," sister Rachel Armenta said.

Armenta's family say he left his truck because he had waited for more than an hour for a tow truck.

So now, they're hoping help will finally come from anyone who might have a clue in this case.

"He always liked to be with me," his mother said. "He liked my company. And I loved his company."

To help the family with expenses, a gofundme page has been set up in his name.