CAPE CORAL, Fla. – The family of 12-year-old Siara Vasquez said their final goodbyes at a memorial service on Thursday. Vasquez was run over and killed by an elderly driver in the parking lot of a Cape Coral Walmart on June 22.
Cape Coral Police detectives aren’t ready to close the case, however. They’re still looking for the driver of a pickup truck that was hit just seconds after Vasquez and her family were struck by the SUV driven by an elderly man.
Susan Canete was there when the mayhem unfolded right in front of her eyes.
“I was about to cross the street to go into the (store) when he heard tires squealing,” Canete told NBC-2’s Gage Goulding in an exclusive interview. “The woman started screaming ‘Help me! Help Me!’ And then she looked over and saw that, who was her daughter, wasn’t moving.”
It’s a moment that plays on repeat inside her head. One she’ll most certainly never forget.
“I guess she couldn’t walk. She crawled over to her daughter,” Canete said. “When she realized she was probably either dead or near death she just screamed ‘No! No!’ I’ll never forget that scream.”
Canete was walking just a couple of steps behind the 12-year-old girl and her family. She heard the tires squealing, but before anyone could say anything, it was too late.
“He didn’t back into her, those people,” she said. “He plowed them down.”
Cape Coral Police said 85-year-old Roy Hensley hit the wrong pedal in his Toyota SUV. He went flying back in reverse, hitting Siara and her family. His SUV then crashed into a pickup truck. The person behind the wheel drove off.
“There had to have been some pretty extensive damage to his vehicle,” Canete said. “I don’t know why he left.”
Cape Coral Police need your help tracking down the driver. The truck is described as a white Ford F-250 or F-350.
Shoppers that know waht happened here also know how dangerous this parking lot can be.
“Just pulling through here, Someone backing out, not looking and almost backing into me,” said Amelia Glinos.
The Vasquez family held memorial services for Siara on Thursday. The driver that killed her is not facing any charges in the accident.
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