Woman arrested in South LA hit-and-run that left teen boy dead, sister critically injured
Arrest made in Hyde Park hit-and-run that left teen dead
Officials announced an arrest in a hit-and-run crash in South Los Angeles that left Hernan Martinez dead and his teenage sister critically injured last month.
LOS ANGELES - Officials announced an arrest Thursday in a hit-and-run crash in South Los Angeles that left a teenage boy dead and his teenage sister critically injured last month.
What we know:
The Los Angeles Police Department identified the suspect as 28-year-old Raygine Glentasia Evans. She was arrested and booked into county jail on Wednesday on suspicion of murder, and her bail was set at $3.255 million.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: LAPD searches for driver after South LA hit-and-run kills teen, critically injures sister
More about the suspect
LAPD officials said Evans is a person of interest in multiple crimes, including burglaries.
"Once we identified her, we started looking into her past, and we ended up learning that she was involved in several robberies a month prior to this, and some incidents happening up in the Valley too," said LAPD Detective Ryan Moreno.
Raygine Glentasia Evans (LAPD)
The backstory:
Authorities said the crash occurred around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, in the 5900 block of 10th Avenue in South Los Angeles' Hyde Park neighborhood as a mother was crossing 60th Street with her two children.
Investigators said a blue Nissan Sentra traveling eastbound on 60th Street ran a red light before striking the two teenagers. Security footage captured the crash and showed the vehicle speeding past, with officials later saying the vehicle was going 80 mph.
The mother, who was not injured, managed to pull her daughter away from a direct hit.
Following the impact, the Nissan collided with a parked vehicle and became disabled. Police said the female driver and a male passenger ditched the car and fled on foot.
Emergency responders pronounced 16-year-old Hernan Martinez dead at the scene. Paramedics transported his 14-year-old sister, Vicky, to a hospital in critical condition with a fractured pelvis. Family members said Hernan had celebrated his 16th birthday three days before the crash.
"The Martinez family did something normal that everyone does every day. Go for a walk in your own neighborhood and unfortunately, they were struck in the process of doing so," Moreno added.
LAPD officials said Evans and the passenger, identified as Joannae Shavon Rosby, were picked up by someone driving a red Honda Accord.
‘He was the sweetest kid ever'
What they're saying:
Hernan's brother, Eliseo Martinez Hernandez, gave an emotional interview with Good Day LA's Gigi Graciette.
"He was the sweetest kid ever," Martinez Hernandez said. "He had no evil in his heart."
He continued to say, "I just miss him. He was so happy that we had just moved in. He was having the time of his life at the house…he deserved to be happy. He deserved the life that was waiting for him. We can't bring him back."
Brother of late teen speaks out after suspect's arrest
Eliseo Martinez Hernandez gives an emotional interview after the LAPD announced the arrest of a woman suspected in a crash that claimed the life of his teen brother, Hernan Martinez.
Detective Moreno said the case has been emotional for him too.
"The sad part is, after this happened, instead of trying to stop and help and get aid…they took off," Moreno said. "What was even more disturbing was we ended up getting more surveillance video and seeing Ms. Evans on her cell phone while she was running."
In addition, Morno said he was disturbed by Evans' lack of remorse.
"Sometimes you get people that are really, really apologetic, very sorry. They want to talk to the family, what have you. Then you get the other kind that they don't care at all… and not to say, because it's Halloween and all that, but very kind of Michael Myers type where there's kind of like no emotion at all."
What we don't know:
An arraignment date has not been announced. Rosby's whereabouts remain unknown and authorities continue looking for her. Rosby, along with two other suspects, face charges of aiding and abetting.
The Source: This story was written with information from the Los Angeles Police Department, an interview with Eliseo Martinez Hernandez, and a previous FOX 11 report.