BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Authorities are searching for the driver of a pickup truck who struck a mother selling elotes near a FoodMaxx parking lot and fled the scene without stopping to help.
Silvia Soto, 46, was struck just before midnight on Friday, Sept. 11, near the FoodMaxx parking lot on Niles Street, according to the California Highway Patrol. Investigators say the driver of a 1990s-era pickup truck fled before officers arrived. Soto remains hospitalized after undergoing surgery.
Her daughter, Esmeralda Morales, says Soto spent countless hours selling corn on the cob to provide for her four children, sometimes staying out until midnight to earn extra money for the family.
"My mom is a very great person. She's always selling day and night to make money for us," Morales said.
Morales says she had no idea what had happened until she woke up the following morning.
"I saw my grandma in my room. And then she had a face of devastation...and she's like, 'Mija, I don't know how you're gonna take this, but your mom's in the hospital.' And I got scared. I started crying," Morales said.
Morales took me to the spot where she says the crash happened. Tire marks are still visible on the roadway, which she believes were left behind the night her mother was hit and seriously injured.
She says the family is feeling the impact of Soto's absence not only emotionally, but financially as well.
"It's been pretty hard on my family since she's the breadwinner. She paid mostly everything...and it feels pretty empty in the house without her," Morales said.
Days after the crash, the driver has still not been identified. Morales has a message for the person who left her mother in the road.
"I hope you turn yourself in. We're going to get justice for my mom because she didn't deserve none of that," Morales said.
Anyone with information on this incident can call CHP at 396-6600.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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