Family of man killed in car-to-car shooting in Watts speaks out
Police said a car-to-car shooting in Watts early Wednesday morning that claimed the life of a husband and father was touched off by road rage.
The shooting was first reported at around 1:30 a.m. near a gas station located at the intersection of Imperial Highway and Central Avenue, only about a mile from the victim's home.
"It has completely destroyed us," said 16-year-old Katherine Hernandez, the victim's daughter.
RELATED: Man shot and killed in apparent car-to-car shooting in Watts; homicide investigation underway
Hernandez and her younger brother, Matthew, are trying to find strength in one another and their grandmother, after police said a road-rage shooting killed their father, 48-year-old Carlos Hernandez.
Security video captured Hernandez's car exiting the 105 Freeway when a second vehicle pulled up next to him and opened fire.
"It was fatal," the 16-year-old said. "When the ambulance came, it was already too late."
The 48-year-old had just gotten off his shift as a delivery truck driver Tuesday night when police said he was hit in the car-to-car shooting.
"It's just hard for me to hear my mom cry," Katherine said. "That's the love of her life, my father."
Hernandez and his wife came to the United States from El Salvador in 2004 with their first child. Their family would grow from there. Katherine said her dad didn't want her to have an after school job, so that she could focus on her studies.
"It just hurts me. He can't see me grow up and I can't thank him for how great of a person he was to all of us. It's just so painful," the 16-year-old told CBSLA.
LAPD believe the shooter fired several shots from a dark colored sedan or SUV, and detectives said that anyone who might have information about the incident can make tips anonymously.
Katherine is hoping her father's shooter will do the right thing.
"We just want them to turn themselves in," she said. "Please, just turn yourself in, because it's far too painful. We have no closure. We don't know who did it. We want justice for him."
The 16-year-old also told CBSLA that she dreams of becoming a homicide detective when she grows up, and that her father made sacrifices with the hope that would be able to achieve her goals.