Long-time girlfriend devastated after 33-year-old killed in South Gate hit-and-run crash

SOUTH GATE, Calif. (KABC) -- A 33-year-old father died after a hit-and-run crash in South Gate, and his long-time girlfriend has been unable to lay him to rest because they were not married.

Andres Camilo Rey Beltran was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver on Sept. 18, and his family is now demanding answers.

"I need someone to help me find whoever did this," Yohana Gonzalez told Eyewitness News in Spanish.

Gonzalez, his girlfriend of 12 years, didn't even know about the accident until the next day. Worried sick, she searched for him.

"I asked a patrol man what was going on. He asked for his birthday and went to check. With his help, we found out he was in the hospital," she said.

When she finally saw him in the hospital, he had significant disfigurement and injuries to his body, as she described to Eyewitness News.

Before the crash, Andres told Yohana his phone was on low-battery when he was on his way to visit a friend. His phone died and he didn't come that night.

According to police, he was struck while walking across the street at the intersection of Long Beach and Firestone boulevards just after 10 p.m.

"I went to the hospital with my sister and I mentioned that this must be really serious because if he were in an accident he would've called me."

The couple is originally from Colombia and since they're not legally married, she says it's been nearly impossible to not only to get information about what happened that night, but also to get his body back from the hospital morgue.

"He was my partner, he was my life, because we were always together all the time," Gonzalez said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family.