CARLSBAD, Calif. (KGTV) - A young mother of two is being remembered a week after she was killed in a hit-and-run and suspected DUI crash.
“She was my world,” said a tearful Yovanna Guillen.
“It’s just so much pain, so much pain,” said Ronaldo Delgado.
From a mother lost in grief to a husband missing his soulmate, family members are remembering 23-year-old Karla Guillen.
Early Tuesday morning, after midnight, she had parked her car near her mother's apartment along Las Palmas Drive, after finishing a shift at McDonald's.
Police say a Volkswagen Jetta crashed into three parked cars, before striking Guillen, who had just gotten of her car. Guillen died at the scene.
According to police, 26-year-old Jose Manuel Zambrano Cruz ran from the scene, and was later arrested less than two miles away and booked on several charges, including felony hit and run, and DUI causing death.
“Why would you just leave the scene? … I don't think that person has a heart,” said Delgado.
“I can't bear it. I feel like dying,” said Yovanna Guillen.
She calls her daughter, a light in the world, a sentiment shared by Delgado.
“She was smart, beautiful, a good soul and a great mom,” said Delgado.
The couple have two children, a 6-year-old girl, and a 4-year-old boy.
“It breaks my heart, when he is like, ‘Where's mom?’ … We’ve told them that mom is an angel. She’s going to be our guardian from now on,” said Delgado.
Delgado and other family members tell me they plan to be in court throughout the legal process.
“I want justice. That’s all that's all I want,” said Delgado.
Cruz did post bail, and is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday.
“It’s not fair he is out. He needs to go to ail, so he will not hurt other families,” said Yovana Guillen.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help with expenses for Guillen's children and other expenses.
A fundraiser is being held September 18, between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., at McDonald's at 1064 N. El Camino Real in Encinitas. A portion of the sales will be donated to the Guillen family.
