“A lot of things don’t make sense,” said Celeste Miranda after her younger sister was killed in a hit-and-run crash.
Ruby Ortiz, a 33-year-old mother of four children, was found dead early Friday morning on a slope off the westbound side of the 118 Freeway in Mission Hills. California Highway Patrol officers reported the incident as a hit-and-run, leaving family members searching for answers about how she ended up on the roadway.
Family members are eager to speak with a gentleman they believe was Ortiz’s partner on the night of the incident. Miranda stated that someone contacted her to say they saw Ortiz in a car with this person at around 1:25 or 1:30 in the morning. Relatives currently have no way of contacting him directly.
“We just want to know, talk to him. We want him to come and tell us, were you the last person she was with? Can you come and tell us more? We just want answers,” Miranda said. She also mentioned that the family has considered the possibility that someone may have wanted to hurt Ortiz.
“There’s a lot of thoughts that are going through our heads. We don’t want to think that is what happened, but we do believe in our hearts that there was more to it,” Miranda said.
Did You Know? Ruby Ortiz leaves behind four children ranging between 4 and 13 years old, who family members describe as having been her major priority.
Loved ones remember Ortiz as a devoted parent and a free spirit. “She was a strong, strong mother. Young, strong mother,” Miranda said. “She was the outspoken one of the family; she was like a free spirit.”
To support the children following the tragedy, a friend of the family established a GoFundMe. Supporters can locate the fundraiser by searching for the keywords “In Loving Memory of Ruby Modesta Ortiz.”
California Highway Patrol investigators are actively probing the incident. Authorities are working to determine how Ortiz arrived on the freeway and what precisely led to her death.
California Highway Patrol officers found Ortiz dead on a slope off the westbound side of the 118 Freeway at around 6:40 a.m. on Friday.
Ortiz leaves behind four children, who range in age from 4 to 13 years old.
A friend of the family established a GoFundMe page to assist the children, which can be found by searching for the keywords “In Loving Memory of Ruby Modesta Ortiz.”
Worth a look