Friends of Nicole Brown ask for suspect to come forward

California Highway Patrol officers have identified the suspect vehicle behind a hit-and-run crash last weekend in Aptos.

On Tuesday, NewsChannel 5 went to the neighborhood where the crash happened, where neighbors have put up a sign hoping to catch the person responsible.

“Just a real go-getter with work, smart, good friends,” Marthann Howes said.

Howes lives in a duplex above crash victim Nicole Brown, 25.

“I would be proud to have her as a daughter, and I’ve told her mother,” Howes said.

Brown is now in the hospital, seriously hurt after she was hit by a car early Saturday morning, just steps from her home on Treasure Island Avenue. Tire tracks are still on the sidewalk, a heart-wrenching reminder the driver just left her. Investigators said she was walking hand in hand with a friend.

“And the vehicle came from behind her and drove up onto the sidewalk and struck Nicole, causing her to fly. And she hit this mailbox over here and there was another car she collided with as well,” Officer Trista Sharp said.

After searching for information for several days, CHP officers were able to identify the suspect vehicle Tuesday.

“This is just a ”like” photo of the vehicle. But it is a Volvo XC90 and it’s going to be year 2003 or newer,” Sharp said.

Officers said they were able to identify the type of car by piecing together fragments of a headlight they found on scene.

Howes said she’s hopeful this information will lead to an arrest.

“Anybody that could hit somebody and take off like that, instead of owning up. If they screwed up and they were drinking and driving, they should fess up, and take ownership of it. You know, we have someone in the hospital in critical condition. A young person who just really got this fantastic job, great job, and now she’s in the hospital, broken,” Howes said.

Meanwhile her friends and family, looking for justice and hoping for a full recovery. Family members are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

The family is also accepting contributions to help pay for her medical care via Paypal to thenicolebrownfund@gmail.com using the “friends and family” option. For those who wish to mail a contribution, the address is P.O. Box 784, Capitola, CA 95010.

A fundraiser is being held at Sushi Garden in Capitola on Saturday June 27, 2015 from noon to 9p.m.