Husband of 27-year-old woman killed by hit-and-run driver in North Hollywood speaks
The husband of the 27-year-old woman who was out for a run when she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in North Hollywood late Friday evening is speaking out, unsure how he's supposed to continue on without his wife.
"You won't forget someone like Leyda," said Kevin Medina, the victim's husband, while speaking with KCAL News.
He says that she had just started running a few months ago and was out for a jog Friday evening to prepare for an upcoming 5k.
"Little by little she started getting so good, it wasn't til now that she was able to consistently keep going," Medina said. "I was so proud of her."
Leyda was less than a mile from their home when she was hit near the intersection of Victory Boulevard and Beck Avenue at around 7 p.m.
"I saw the pictures of the car, I saw her shoe on the street. It was difficult to process," Medina said.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital after the crash, but she was later pronounced dead, leaving Kevin and the rest of their family with unimaginable pain that they're still struggling to process.
"I don't know if I'm scared that I'm gonna have to learn to live without her," he said. "I'm scared if she suffered her last minutes, you know there's just mostly fear I feel."
The two were high school sweethearts but were married for just seven months when Friday's tragedy struck. Now, he's left without his beloved wife and answers about her death.
The still unidentified driver, who stopped his car and ran from the spot of the crash has yet to be located days later, leading the city of Los Angeles to offer a $50,000 reward for information.
"I don't understand how someone could be so cold blooded," Medina asked. "We're humans. We're supposed to feel some form of compassion."
Though he's still unsure what his next steps forward will be, Medina says he's thankful to the neighbors who rushed to try and help Leyda that night, and to the hundreds of people that have donated to a GoFundMe page that will help him pay for funeral expenses.
"As her husband, I feel like I let her down in her last few moments because I wasn't there to protect her," he said. "That's something I'm gonna have to cope with and come to terms with."
