3 years after hit-and-run left 3 girls dead in Lucerne Valley, suspect remains on the run
Investigators believe he could be somewhere in California or Mexico.
LUCERNE VALLEY, Calif. (KABC) -- For three years, Santos Alejandro Jimenez-Cruz has been on the run.
The now 21-year-old is wanted in a deadly June 2021 hit-and-run that left three girls dead and another girl fighting for her life on the side of a road in Lucerne Valley.
"We lost her and they lost theirs, and I'm like ... he's living life like it never happened," said Tammy Midkiff, the grandmother of 13-year-old Sandra Mizer. "He's getting away with it."
Sandra along with 12-year-old Daytona Bronas and 11-year-old Willow Sanchez where killed on June 5.
The girls were a sleepover at their friend Natalie Coe's home.
"Last time I talked to Sandra was 8:30 that night, she told me they were sitting there watching movies, and I trusted she'd be in the house the rest of the night," said Tammy.
But the girls decided to go for a late night walk on the roadway. Coe and Bronas were in their wheelchairs.
Investigators with the California Highway Patrol said Jimenez-Cruz was behind the wheel of his father's Chevrolet Silverado with a passenger when he struck the girls.
"They shined their flashlights on all the girls that they killed and the survivor and just left her suffering," said Tammy.
Coe survived despite serious injuries, which required one of her legs to be amputated.
Investigators say Jimenez-Cruz and his passenger abandoned the truck and ran from scene. Since that tragic day, the families have been waiting for justice.
"Last time we heard anything from anybody, they said that he is in Mexico," said Tammy Midkiff. "But he has to be arrested before they extradite him."
In the three years Tammy has been waiting for justice, she revisits the nightmare of the night she was called to identify her granddaughter on the roadway.
"I got there and I seen her and her eyes were open like she was telling me she's sorry," said Midkiff.
In a statement sent to Eyewitness New, the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, which is handling the case, said they have "no actionable leads" as to Jimenez-Cruz's whereabouts.
The DA's office said he could be somewhere in California or Mexico.
"Any leads to his location can be sent to our Office or our investigative partners at California Highway Patrol."
Anyone with information on Jimenez-Cruz's whereabouts is also urged to contact the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Desert Division at 760-243-8600.
