Family Of Pilsen Hit And Run Victim Pleads For Help; 'We Need To Get This Person Off The Streets'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's been almost three weeks and there are still no answers for the family of Mia Arriaga, killed by a driver who didn't stop.
CBS 2's Marissa Parra discovered the crimes didn't stop there.
In the early hours of November 1st, Mia Maria Arriaga was hit by a pickup truck and left bleeding at 18th and Ashland.
"As my niece was fighting for her life at Stroger Hospital, she was listed as a Jane Doe," said Mia's aunt Valerie Santiago.
Santiago said that's because her niece was the victim of a pick-pocket while she lay on the street. CBS 2 was told by the family that the mini-mart across the street had surveillance video, but the store said it gave the video to the police.
CPD said CBS 2 would have to file a Freedom of Information Act request.
Pilsen Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) said he watched it happen on a video posted to social media
"It appeared like someone was taking something out of her pockets," said Sigcho-Lopez. "It seemed like that was the case in the video that I saw."
CBS 2 searched for that video but it was taken down. Tracking details of the incident has proven to be difficult. What is known is that 27-year-old Arriaga was walking that night with a 49-year-old man, who family call a friend of hers.
Police said a driver of a green pick-up truck got into an argument with the man. As the two begin to cross the sidewalk, the truck runs through a red light, striking both of them.
His injuries were minor and he refused to go to the hospital. Hers were severe and she would never recover.
"She lost her parents about four years ago, within two weeks of each other. Her mother and her father died. She's had a rough life and it hurt her," Santiago said.
Arriaga has been laid to rest, but her family said they can't rest until the driver is found.
"We need to get this person off the streets. And that's what we're for asking. Help," Santiago said.
Police said this has been reclassified as a homicide. Authorities won't tell CBS 2 the identify of the man Arriaga was walking with, and won't say if they know the identity of the driver either. Only that it's under investigation.
The family is also looking for the Good Samaritan who found Arriaga and placed cones around her so she wouldn't get hit by another car.
If you know anything about the accident or the driver, you're asked to call the Chicago Police Department.
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