WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Barbara McLean tells Newswatch 16 she and her family are overwhelmed with grief.
"My sister was on her way to get a money order to pay her rent and to take her walk to see my mother like she does every day. And she never made it," McLean said.
McLean says her sister, Angela Velazquez, was the woman who was hit by a car while crossing Northampton Street Wednesday afternoon in Wilkes-Barre. The driver took off and is still on the loose. The victim of the hit and run suffered broken breast and hip bones, a back injury and had to have one of her legs amputated.
"It's going to be rehab. It's just like, she's going to need a wheelchair, somewhere to live where she could wheelchair to get in and out eventually. I mean, you know, prosthetic leg later on. I just, I don't know where like the funding that's the biggest thing. Like, where's all this go coming from?"
The family has set up a GoFundMe page because Velazquez has five children and no medical insurance. The family has also hired a lawyer to help them navigate the aftermath of the incident and seek justice for what happened.
"Realistically, this sounds like a very dangerous situation that could have been prevented. And, you know, I mean obviously, someone made a very big mistake. And I think that was amplified, and that's the problem here," said Theron Solomon of the Dyller Law Fire. "Right now, we're in the exploring stage. I know that you know, somebody is obviously responsible, and we're going to explore everything."
The Wilkes-Barre Police Department says this started with an attempted traffic stop on South Empire Street. Police say there was a short pursuit on Stanton Street before losing sight of the vehicle blocks away. The car hit Velazquez crossing Northampton Street downtown. The car was recovered not far away, abandoned near Wilkes University.
Police are still looking for the driver of the car and describe him as a black male in his late twenties/early thirties, more than 6 feet tall, weighing about 220 pounds, with gold teeth.
If you have any information related to this incident, you are asked to contact police in Wilkes-Barre or call 911.