SoCal Police Search For Driver Who Hit, Killed SF State Student
ROSEMEAD (KPIX 5) — Police in Southern California continued their hunt Sunday for a hit-and-run driver who killed a 21-year-old San Francisco State student in Redondo Beach.
In Rosemead, about 100 friends and family members mourned the loss of Angelina Pinedo and held a prayer vigil in her honor. They asked the killer to come forward.
Pinedo was walking home with her sister when she was killed Saturday evening at Aviation Boulevard and Grant Avenue.
"Last night, her life was taken in a way Angelina did not deserve," said sister Martha Pinedo-Torres.
Her family said Angelina was a toddler--about 2 years old--when she lost her own father in the same way: a hit-and-run crash. Her mother died shortly thereafter. Her aunt and uncle adopted Angelina as their own and raised her in the town of Rosemead.
Saturday night, Pinedo's family said Angelina was at her sister Michele's place in Redondo Beach. The two had been at a going away party earlier in the evening — they were on their way home to get Angelina's bags so she could head back to school.
"Angelina spent every moment she possibly could with her family and friends, she was beloved by everyone who knew her," said Pinedo-Torres.
A junior at San Francisco State, Angelina recently worked as a Resident Assistant in the dorms. Among her various part time jobs was a stint at City Kebab and Gyros in Daly City, a restaurant not far from campus.
Her family said she was studying sociology so she could help children. Family spokesman Jonathan Torres told KPIX 5 that Pinedo planned to catch the Greyhound bus late Saturday night back to San Francisco.
"It's very tragic," said Savannah Villareal, a San Francisco State Student who did not know Angelina.
"I've had family members who've gotten hit-and-run['ed] and they don't know who it is. So it's very sad. They're just thinking about all these thoughts of like, 'Who killed my daughter?' and they're still left with no answers."
"My baby sister had the most amazing soul. And I wouldn't be surprised if she were here telling me to forgive that person," said Pinedo-Torres.
Police say the suspect's car is a black Audi Q5 with a partial plate of 7MB.
The Pinedo family is asking for closure; they want whoever killed their baby sister to come forward.
"Please, we're just asking to give our family the peace we deserve. To give her the peace she deserves," said Pinedo-Torres.