Eliseo Martinez says his family is trying to pull together after a suspected getaway driver killed his 16-year-old brother.
The Los Angeles Police Department named Raygine Glentasia Evans, the alleged driver, during a Thursday press conference. Evans, 33, has been cited nine times for reckless driving and running stop signs, and police say she is wanted in connection with 10 robberies across Los Angeles.
Evans is accused of blowing through a stop sign at high speed before plowing into Hernan Martinez and his 13-year-old sister, Vicky, as they crossed a South Los Angeles street with their mother on Sept. 22. The deadly crash unfolded around 9:30 p.m. At the intersection of 10th Avenue and 60th Street in the Hyde Park neighborhood.
Hernan was struck with such force that he landed on the windshield of the blue Nissan Sentra. The vehicle continued barreling down the street before smashing into parked vehicles, according to KTLA. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene, while his younger sister was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.
Surveillance footage captured two women fleeing the mangled sedan moments after the deadly crash. Police identified the passenger as Joannae Shavon Rosby. The women were seen sprinting down the street before another vehicle picked them up.
Neighbor Jerome Alexander told ABC7 he heard an explosive crash and rushed outside to find a nightmarish scene.
“We heard a loud bang. Honestly, it was so loud it sounded like someone hit a building or a car,” Alexander said.
He discovered Vicky partially trapped beneath a parked vehicle, initially unconscious, before her mother’s desperate pleas appeared to revive her.
“The daughter was partially under our car. At first, she wasn’t conscious and then her mom started talking to her and her eyes popped open,” he recalled.
Alexander said he then spotted Hernan lying atop the suspect’s vehicle before the boy rolled off. In another disturbing development, Alexander claimed a man returned to the wrecked Nissan and retrieved what appeared to be a baby from the back seat.
“A guy came back, opened the back door, moved the airbags out the way, a lot of smoke coming out the car and he grabbed the baby out the backseat and left with the baby,” Alexander said.
When Alexander confronted him, the man allegedly showed little concern for the dying teenager.
“I said stop touching the car, they just killed somebody’s kid, and he said, ‘I don’t care about that,'” Alexander recalled.
Hernan’s older brother, Eliseo Martinez, said their mother managed to pull Vicky away from the speeding car but could not save Hernan.
“My mom, me and my sister are trying to pull it all together for one another,” he told KTLA.
Vicky has since undergone surgery and faces a grueling recovery. Her brother remembered Hernan as a sweet, talented teenager who loved baking and sewing and had his entire future ahead of him.
Around 200 grieving relatives, friends and neighbors gathered for a rosary to honor the slain teen, while community volunteers painted a crosswalk at the deadly intersection and demanded stronger pedestrian protections. The family has also launched a GoFundMe to help cover expenses following the devastating loss, raising more than $18,000 toward a $22,000 goal.
“He was only 16 years old and had so much life ahead of him,” Eliseo wrote. “Losing him so unexpectedly has left a pain in our family that is difficult to put into words.”
The LAPD announced Thursday that a reward of up to $50,000 is available for information leading to Evans’ arrest. Anyone with information is urged to contact LAPD South Traffic Division Officer Hurd at 213-321-9681 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.