‘Angel on Earth’: Family remembers woman killed in hit-and-run on Northwest Side

  

SAN ANTONIO – To her daughter, Maria Martinez meant the world.

“She was an angel on earth,” Veronica Martinez told KSAT. “It makes me proud to call her my mom.”

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office identified Maria Martinez as the woman killed after a crash Thursday morning on Babcock Road. She was 67.

One day after Maria Martinez’s death, devastation only begins to describe how her family feels.

“It’s going to be hard,” Veronica Martinez said. “But we’re just taking it one day at a time.”

San Antonio police said a male driver hit Maria Martinez in the middle of the street where she was likely crossing Babcock Road. Police said the driver got out of the car to help her, but that’s when another vehicle hit both of them.

The second driver sped off.

The man, who police believe is in his 60s, was injured and sent to the hospital. Emergency personnel pronounced Maria Martinez dead at the scene.

Her family said she was walking from the bus stop to her work when the collisions took place.

“We want people to be careful when they’re driving down that street,” Veronica Martinez said. “We’re very forgiving people. That’s one thing my mom taught us.

“We just want answers. We want her to rest at peace knowing that people are held accountable for it.”

In her honor, a memorial has formed on the side of Babcock Road.

“We know that she would have wanted us to push forward, and that’s what we’re trying to do for her,” Veronica Martinez said.

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