Watsonville woman suffers major injuries after hit-and-run

Watsonville Police have found new surveillance video to help solve a Sunday morning hit-and-run.

The video shows the truck police believe to have struck Esperanza Peña. The 23-year-old was in the roadway, walking to a parked car, when she was hit and left unconscious in the street.

“We could say a whole lot of things. We could say it was a drunk driver. We could say it was somebody texting. We could say they looked down for a minute. It could’ve been for any possible reason, but the fact is that they should have stopped,” said Peña’s mother-in-law, Marie Anderson Gomez.

Upon impact, Peña suffered a fractured pelvis, spinal column and internal bleeding. She was flown to Stanford’s Trauma Center. The long road to recovery has only started. “The most horrific things happen to the best of people. She truly is the best person. For somebody to leave her in the road like that, it breaks my heart. She doesn’t deserve that,” said Gomez.

Peña is in stable condition after undergoing her first major surgery, Wednesday.

Police said they will continue to investigate the collision. “We’re looking for a driver who was in a single cab pickup truck with oversized chrome rims. If anyone has information we’re asking them to contact us,” said Watsonville Police Public Information Officer, Michelle Pulido.

Pulido said the driver who hit Peña could be facing felony charges.

Peña’s family is hoping a witness will come forward. “As a community we need to pull together and make sure people don’t get away with things like this,” said Gomez.

Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to Watsonville Police at 831-768-3544.