A Pomona family is pleading for help finding the person who ran down a father of three and left him dead on the side of the 210 Freeway.
The deadly hit-and-run happened April 10 at the Cherry Avenue off-ramp where Jose Alvarado was trying to change a tire when he was struck and killed.
"He was a great man,” says his daughter, Roxana Alvarado. “He was very charismatic, he was a free spirit, he was outgoing."
Roxana Alvarado loved her father so much that just the mention of his name will bring her to tears.
"I love him and I miss him," she says.
The loving father of three, the 55-year-old Pomona man came from a big family. He was the oldest of 11 brothers and sisters, and they are all still in disbelief that he is gone.
"It's just like a nightmare that we can't wake up," says his sister, Lupe Garcia.
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Last month, Jose and a couple of buddies were heading east on the 210 Freeway when their vehicle got a flat tire.
The driver pulled over at the Cherry Avenue exit, in an area between the freeway and the exit.
When Jose got out to look at the tire, a vehicle -- possibly a white SUV or Chrysler minivan exited at the last second, striking him as he stood near his friend’s car and then continuing down the exit.
"We want some answers to be able to have a face to put to the nightmare we have been going through," Lupe Garcia says.
CHP investigators have a few pieces of evidence, including a side mirror and headlight, but not much more.
"We're not angry,” Roxana Alvarado says. “We are just filled with sorrow and a lot of grief."
Roxana believes if the driver hears her words and sees her family's heartache, maybe that driver will come forward and give them some relief.
"Take into consideration that my father was a human,” she says. “And he didn't deserve it."
Anyone with information is asked to call California Highway Patrol.
