Friend Pleads For Hit-And-Run Suspect To Quit Hiding
STOCKTON (CBS13) -- A family friend of the woman suspected of driving into a 3-year-old and then leaving the scene says she's not a bad person, but that she's "afraid" and "hurting."
"She's not that villain," family friend Doris Neal of suspect Aushua McDuff-Brown, who is wanted in the death of toddler Ruben Ramirez, who was killed in front of Madison Market on Monday afternoon.
Neal describes McDuff-Brown as a caring woman who herself has a 3-year-old little boy.
The victim and his mother happened to be in front of the market when police say McDuff-Brown tried to run over another woman in an altercation and slammed into Ruben instead.
"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Neal said.
Neal says no one has seen or heard from McDuff-Brown since before the crash -- and they yearn to hear her side of the story.
"Aushua, just come home," Neal pleaded. "All you are doing is making things worse for yourself. You know what happened. You know the story"
Two days after the boy's death, his family is having a hard time understanding why McDuff-Brown is still running from the law.
"If you are such a good person and mom, if there's any dignity, pride or respect as a mother, why you running?" asked Ruben's aunt, Kayla Sandova.
Ruben's family was dealt another blow. They say overnight vandals damaged the memorial at the crash site and Wednesday a woman tried to steal teddy bears and the donation jar.
"We caught her trying to take the money out of the box," Sandova said. "She turned around and ended up hitting me."
The family is planning a car wash to raise money for Ruben's funeral. Meanwhile, detectives continue to follow up leads on the whereabouts of McDuff-Brown.
