CHICAGO (WLS) — A family is demanding answers after their daughter was left at the scene of a car crash on Chicago’s East Side.
Police say Suzanna Marie Garcia was found in the passenger seat of the car, and the driver fled the scene.
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Garcia’s parents say they believe they know who was behind the wheel of the crash that killed their daughter. Now, they say they just want the truth of what happened.
“She was always smiling, even if there were fake smile sometimes. She was always smiling,” father Ascension Andrade said.
It’s the smile they’ll only get to see in memories.
“The person that was with her really left the scene. I don’t know; it just doesn’t add up,” Andrade said.
Garcia, 38, a mom to three, was found inside a gray SUV that crashed into a pole near the 95th Street bridge over the Calumet River on the morning of New Year’s Day. She was in the passenger seat, but the driver was nowhere to be found.
Her mom and dad are trying to cope with the driver’s decision not to call for help.
“Maybe she would’ve had a chance. Yes, she would’ve been in the hospital, injured. But we would’ve preferred that than where she is now,” mother Maricela Andrade said. “She was a good daughter, a loving mother. Everybody loved her.”
She was the first-born daughter in her family.
“We didn’t find out until 8 at night. Oh my gosh, we didn’t know,” Ascension Andrade said.
Garcia was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her parents say the first time they will see her body will be at the funeral Wednesday, as they try to handle having more questions than answers.
“All I want to know is what exactly happened, like how it happened, what led to that?” Maricela Andrade said.
Ascension Andrade has one clear message for the driver.
“Just, just turn yourself in. Just face the consequence,” he said.
Chicago police said no one is in custody, and they are still investigating the case.
A GoFundMe has been created to support Garcia’s family.
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