Love ones along the Peninsula are trying to navigate life after a pillar in their family was tragically killed while crossing the street. Jocelyn Moran reports.
Love ones along the Peninsula are trying to navigate life after a pillar in their family was tragically killed while crossing the street.
The deadly crash occurred last week on the border of San Mateo and Burlingame. The woman killed leaves behind a daughter with special needs and their family is now asking for the community's support.
"She was extremely caring," Arli Torres said of Yolanda Villar, who she considered an aunt. "She was very giving."
Villar is described as someone with a heart full of kindness and always willing to help in any way she could.
Villar was in San Mateo looking at an apartment for Torres' brother, who was planning to move out soon. As she was walking across Peninsula Avenue, Villar was hit by a car.
Torres said she was transported to San Francisco General Hospital.
"The nurses pretty much told us that she did not make it and that night we came back, we picked up her car, and we had to tell Stephanie, her special needs daughter, the day after," Torres said.
Villar's life revolved around her 18-year-old daughter Stephanie.
"She did everything in her power so that not only did Stephanie have the resources she needed, but also that she felt loved and supported, and felt like a normal kid," Torres said.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Torres said Stephanie is struggling to understand what happened to her mother.
"She doesn't necessarily understand the concept of death," Torres said. "So she had asked my mom over the phone why her mom had left her."
Villar's sister is now taking care of Stephanie.
Flowers and a picture of Villar was seen Thursday on the street where the deadly collision occurred. The family is asking for the community's support through an online donation.
The driver is cooperating with the investigation.
Police said neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be a factor in the incident.
