SAN MARCOS -- A young mother-to-be was killed by a hit-and-run driver in San Marcos. The 22-year-old died Thursday morning after the Tuesday night accident.
News of the death of Diann Ford, an expectant mother, spread quickly at the San Marcos apartment complex where she lived.
"It really does hurt to know that she is gone now, and there is nothing we can do about it now," said Paloma Lopez, one of Ford's neighbors.
Investigators say Ford had just finished her shift at a Long John Silver's around 11 p.m. Tuesday. As she walked across the IH-35 southbound access road near Hopkins, she was struck by a vehicle. Police say the driver did not stop.
"There was another car that came down the access road and saw her in the roadway and stopped and called police," said Sgt. Christopher Tureaud, with the San Marcos Police Department.
Ford's co-workers did not see nor hear the accident when it happened. When they were alerted to it about 10-15 minutes after, they came running out and found Ford sitting on the curb about 100 yards from where she worked. Police arrived at the same time.
"She told the officers that the vehicle that hit her was a dark-colored car with bright headlights," said Tureaud.
Police are hoping someone saw something that may help them track down the driver who is responsible.
"I mean that is a shock," said Lopez. "I do not know how somebody can just hit somebody and not stop."
"It is sad that she is not here anymore," said Jose Luis Uresti, one of Ford's neighbors. "The fact the baby is not going to have a mother to come home to anymore, its just sad."
The baby girl was delivered by cesarean section and is in good condition in the pediatric ICU at University Medical Center Brackenridge.
Neighbors say Ford didn't have any close relatives, and they didn't know anything about the baby's father. Investigators say at the moment it is uncertain where her daughter will live.
Anyone with information on the hit and run is asked to call San Marcos Crime Stoppers at 1-800-324-8477.
