Witnesses rushed to help after a car plowed into a prayer group at a Harbor Gateway home on Wednesday, prompting a search for the female driver that continued into Thursday with a $50,000 reward being offered.
"I was like, 'did that really happen?'" Charry Madduma, a witness, said.
First responders confirmed 11 people, many of them elderly, were inside the home and pinned by the maroon 1999 Buick Regal just after 8 p.m. at 14837 S. Orchard Ave. Hailing from local Catholic churches, they were gathered for a weekly prayer circle.
Five went to the hospital with critical injuries and Elsa Debelen, 73, was killed.
Witnessed rushed to help as the woman behind the wheel ran from the crash, leaving mangled bodies in her wake.
"I don't know how she really got away from the car and ran," said Carmen Foley, a friend of a victim. "I don't understand."
A $50,000 reward is being offered for help finding the driver. The car had paper license plates with the words "SoCal Motors" printed on it, authorities said.
"God gives one life for us to live and we don't know when our time comes," said Father John Vianney, who often attends the prayer circle. "In that short life, the one life that we live, be happy and be good."
