Family pleads for help finding driver who killed woman in Pilsen hit-and-run

CHICAGO — The family and friends of a woman killed in a hit-and-run are asking the public and Chicago police for help in finding the driver responsible.

Marcella Herrera, 22, and her fiancé, 21-year-old Mauricio Leyva had been working at Pilsen’s Tacos and Tamales Festival on July 19.

According to police, the couple was crossing the street in a crosswalk in the 1900 block of South Ashland Avenue in the Pilsen neighborhood, when they were struck by a dark-colored Dodge Journey.

The driver of the SUV did not stop.

Herrera died from her injuries, and Leyva sustained facial fractures and is now recovering from surgery. 

On Tuesday morning, nearly two dozen people gathered at the intersection of Ashland Avenue and Cullerton Street, where Hererra was killed and her fiancé was seriously injured.

Her family says the fact that the person responsible is still unknown, makes her death even more difficult. They are asking help from both the public and police.

“We’ve been fighting here for the last week since her death. This heartbreak from her family and friends is enough to kill somebody. You walk into a room of her family and friends and you can feel the pain in their hearts,” said Chris Saucedo, Hererra’s cousin.

Alderman Byron Sigcho Lopez has joined the call for more resources to solve the case, and is pleading with the public for help.  

“We’re asking anyboy who has a tip or any information that can lead us to find the people responsible in this wreckless murder, we want to make sure they come forward. Now is the time,” said Ald. Lopez.

Hererra and her fiancé were set to get marreied next month, making this hit-and-run death all the more difficult for family members who say they are grieving her loss at a time when they should be ceelebrating her wedding.