Daughters Of Jorge Hernandez Making Urgent Plea For Driver In Deadly Hit-And-Run To Step Forward: 'It's Our Turn To Fight For Him'

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A family is grieving after losing their father in a hit-and-run crash. The crash happened Saturday night on Christopher Columbus Boulevard in South Philadelphia. The family is making an urgent plea.

The intersection on South Columbus Boulevard is only about a mile from where Hernandez lived. His family as you might imagine is heartbroken.

"He was a hardworking person and I think we were his pride and joy, and he would tell us that all the time," daughter Amelie Hernandez said.

Jorge Hernandez's daughters are grieving the sudden loss of their father. Eyewitness News spoke with Amelie and Gisele Hernandez in their family home in Point Breeze. A shrine to him is now growing in their living room.

"He wasn't just another person," daughter Gisele Hernandez said. "He was a father, a husband. He was a grandfather. He was more than just a single person who was crossing the street."

Hernandez immigrated to the United States 26 years ago from Mexico. He worked as a chef at an Italian restaurant in Sea Isle, New Jersey. He was killed Saturday night crossing Columbus Boulevard in South Philly.

This is a surveillance photo released by police. It shows the moment of impact.

The impact was so severe that parts of the vehicle were found in the street. Police are looking for a gray pickup truck with damage to the front end. Police say it would be impossible for someone not to know they hit something or someone.

"It looks like the driver tries to stop either before or right after the collision, but at any event they didn't stay. They need to come forward,"  Philadelphia Police Capt. Mark Overwise said.

"It's very heartbreaking to know that after they knew what happened they did not stop. It's completely inhumane to do that," Amelie Hernandez said.

Police are now urging the legislature to pass a bill that state Sen. Anthony Williams introduced in 2019. It would have alerted every repair shop in the state of the description of vehicles involved in hit-and-run crashes, but the bill didn't gain traction and died in committee.

Meanwhile, Hernandez's family is pleading for the driver to come forward.

"He always fought for us and now it's our turn to fight for him," Gisele Hernandez.

Funeral services are being planned for Saturday.