Woman, 56, dies after weeks in coma following Little Village hit-and-run

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Little Village community is calling for justice after a woman was killed in a hit-and-run crossing 26th Street in November.

Juana Soto-Lopez, 56, died Thursday after weeks in a coma, her daughter said. In all that time, the person responsible still has not been found.

On a slate gray Friday, with rain and sleet that chilled to the bone, Carol Cisneros and her family and friends gather near the spot at 26th and Drake where her mother was hit by a vehicle on November 20.

"I just wanted her to get justice and for the person to turn themselves in or be caught because my mom, no one deserves this. To get hit and be left behind like they're nothing," Cisneros said.

Cisneros and the Little Village Community Council are calling for justice, saying more must be done to find the person responsible killing the mother of five and grandmother of 10.

"My mom didn't deserve to die. She was a person full of life and still had a long way to be with us and due to his actions now we don't have her with us," Cisneros said.

"If this would have happened in River North or the Gold Coast we would have all types of investigators, all types of detectives, finding the aggressor but since it happened in Little Village, it's just another case,' said Baltazar Enriquez, Little Village Community Council president.

Enriquez gathered members to canvas the neighborhood themselves, knocking on doors on the street where police say the driver sped away.

"We're asking for something as simple as a clear investigation, a fair investigation, and respect. Respect to the family and respect to the community," he said.

CPD told ABC7 the investigation is ongoing and released a picture of a red pickup truck they said hit Soto-Lopez.

However Cisneros said investigators told her a different vehicle was wanted in the case. CPD has not confirmed that with ABC7.

According the ABC7 Eyewitness News Data Team, hit-and-runs in the Little Village area have increased 5 percent year over year.

This year, they are at a high from the past five years at 897 hit and run crashes.

"If he didn't stop to help her, he can help us get peace this Christmas for our kids. My kids, my nieces, nephews, my sisters, my brother," Cisneros said.