Mother, family members hold vigil to remember daughter killed in car crash
It's been more than three months since Bianca Tapia died after the car she was driving was slammed into by a speeding driver in the Northridge area.
On Saturday, Tapia's mother and family members returned to the scene where the fatal car collision took place on Woodley Avenue and Parthenia Street.
Tapia's family members held a vigil/protest for her and told CBSLA Reporter Jake Reiner that they hope the driver behind the wheel of the 1998 Chevrolet pickup truck is brought to justice.
"He's out there. He's out there living life. ... that's not fair," Nancy Tapia, Bianca's mother. said. "I haven't had time to mourn properly because I want to know what happened to my daughter."
Twenty-six-year-old Manuel Sandoval was behind the wheel of his truck when he slammed into Bianca Tapia's Nissan as she was making a left turn on Parthenia.
The crash overturned Sandoval's truck but he did not sustain any critical injuries. Unfortunately for Tapia, the collision sent her sedan into a light pole. She was taken to a hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.
He spent a few nights in custody but was released after being cited, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Authorities suspect Sandoval was driving under the influence but so far no charges have not been brought forward.
Bianca Tapia's sister Giselle Uriostegui vividly remembers the night her sibling and roommate lost her life.
"I had just gotten groceries for us to make dinner and I was going to wait around for her to come home so we could start cooking and she just never came home," Uriostegui told Reiner. "It's tough to swallow this pill, but I feel that somehow, some way Bianca will get justice."
Tapia worked as a community skills instructor in Thousand Oaks. She worked with kids and young adults with autism. She was 33-year-old.