Grieving family members and friends left a small Christmas tree and other items at a memorial Sunday for a woman struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in a South Los Angeles neighborhood.
The crash was reported at 3:27 p.m. Saturday at Broadway and 88th Street in the Broadway-Manchester area. Trina Newman-Townsend, 62, died at the scene.
The Christmas tree, candles, a unicorn balloon and other items were left on the sidewalk near the site of the crash as a memorial where mourners gathered on Christmas Day to remember a woman described as compassionate and caring. A message scrawled on the sidewalk read, “We love you Auntie Trina.”
Dwayne Newman said his sister was passing out gifts and other items on Christmas Eve when she was struck. He was at the memorial on Christmas Day.
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“My sister was a beautiful spirit,” Newman said. “Very soulful and generous person. She had children that she adopted and brought in. She was always giving to the homeless and charities.
“She’s going to be deeply missed. Infinity times infinity.”
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Newman said his sister was making some ribbons and buttons for a childhood friend’s funeral a day before the crash.
“She died doing what she loved to do,” husband Curtis said at the memorial Sunday. “She was giving out Christmas boxes, hams.
“For this to happen, it’s not right.”
No arrests were reported Sunday. A detailed description of the vehicle that struck the victim was not immediately available.
A witness told NBCLA Newman-Townsend was getting items out of the back of a car when a car traveling at about 40 mph struck the open door and the victim. The driver went through a red light after the crash and sped away from the scene, the witness said.
"This happened the day before Christmas," the witness said. "She was trying to help people and she got her life taken away."
