The accident happened just after 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 11 on Long Beach Avenue near 40th Place. Irma Rodriguez was standing near the back of her truck when the driver of a gray or silver Ford F-150 plowed into her, pinning her between the two vehicles.
"They tried to save one leg," said Mariela Escobar, Rodriguez's daughter. "It was like 11 surgeries, but they couldn't do anything."
At a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council approved a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
"When you do something cold-blooded like that, like crash into somebody and back up and leave, it's surprising," said Escobar. "How would you do that? Don't you have feelings?"
The 59-year-old mother of four had to endure nearly 12 surgeries since the crash four months ago. Her daughter said that it's hard to see her mother, once so independent, now confined to a wheelchair.
"Normally she's fighting with herself to say 'I'm OK, I'm alive.' But still inside her is sad, and I understand," said Escobar.
Anyone with information was asked to call L.A. Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
