A 37-year-old woman killed by a hit-and-run driver in Hollywood over the weekend has been identified by grieving family members and friends, while the suspect driver remains at large.
The tragic collision occurred June 29 at around 9 p.m. on West Sunset Boulevard near North Sierra Bonita Avenue in Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Erika Edwards had walked to her car after performing at a fundraiser in the area and was struck by a motorist in a dark-colored Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon while she was next to her car, her husband, Kris Edwards, said in a post to Instagram.
The driver failed to stop, identify themselves and attempt to render aid. Police said speed may have been a factor in the deadly crash.
Medical personnel with the Los Angeles Fire Department responded and pronounced the 37-year-old dead at the scene.
In his post to social media, the victim’s husband said the person with the L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Office helped him track his wife’s phone, which they found down the road from the crash, near a fast-food restaurant’s drive through.
He also said that he and his wife had just closed escrow on a new home and had recently gotten the keys.
“I’m still unpacking boxes,” he wrote. “Next, we wanted to have kids and were taking the next step to make a home.”
A GoFundMe has been organized by Andrea Edwards, Kris’s sister, to help with the cost of laying Erika to rest.
“The amount of lives she touched and changed will be the memory that I hold on to forever,” Kris wrote.
A reward of up to $50,000 is being offered to anyone that helps with the identification, apprehension and conviction of the driver.
Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact LAPD’s West Traffic Detectives at 213-473-0234. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.org.
