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Taylorsville • All Sunday afternoon people stopped by to add a candle, flowers and stuffed animals to the memorial in front of the Garcias' home.
It's the spot where 1-year-old Vicsayra Maribel Garcia was killed when struck by a vehicle Friday evening.
"We still don't know anything," said Maria Mesa, Vicsayra's grandmother. Two days after the accident, officials have not found the driver of the vehicle that hit the toddler. And Mesa was blaming herself, saying if she had been home Friday night, she would have kept her granddaughter safe and the accident wouldn't have happened.
According to Taylorsville police, Vicsayra was hit by a minivan making a U-turn at 7:40 p.m. as she was standing on the curb outside her home in the Majestic Oaks neighborhood. On Sunday, Detective Shannon Bennett said that, since Friday, police "had not developed any new leads."
It was a young neighbor across the street who first saw what happened. She screamed for help. Mercedes Garcia, Vicsayra's 11-year-old aunt, heard the commotion and was the first family member to see her niece. "I'm sad and mad about the person who did this. [Vicsayra's] never going to be by my side," Mercedes said as she described what she saw. "She is a baby angel now."
The family had a memorial Saturday, when neighbors and complete strangers stopped by to offer condolences. Some stayed until midnight.
On Sunday, Mesa, her daughters and other family members sat in the shade in front of the house keeping vigil.
"She made her first steps with that little car right there," Mesa said pointing at a colorful push toy among the flowers and stuffed animals. "I didn't see her [after the accident]. I want to remember her happy and with a smile."
The parents, Dolores Gonzales and Oscar Garcia, spent Sunday with other family members. Mesa said they didn't want to be around the street and the memory of what happened. The couple have two other children.
"Her mom is just torn and so is my son," Mesa said of the young couple who had moved in with her and her husband after Oscar lost work.
Mesa said Friday started out happily for the family. Her husband, Oscar Sr.,who works in St. George, was home for the weekend and was cooking for the family. Vicsy, as they often called her, had played in the backyard and ate dinner with her aunts.
"Kids ... one minute you have them next to you. The next they're gone," Mesa said. "If I would have been here, it wouldn't have happened because I'm always after her."
The family is looking to find an affordable counselor to help the children and the parents with the psychological trauma.
Analy Castrellon, a neighbor across the street helped the family make copies of a photo of Vicsayra to put on T-shirts, and brought hot dogs for lunch. "It's really sad. Because you used to see her around and I have my own little one," Castrellon said. "It's just something inexplicable."
A few minutes, later Elenor Ironlighting, the neighbor next door, informed Mesa she had talked to someone at her church to help with donations. "I put some Indian stuff there too,"Ironlighting said of the memorial. "It helps the passing to the spirit world."
Police searching for driver
Police are looking for a Latina woman in her early 20s, who was driving a white 1996 to 2000 minivan, possibly a Dodge Caravan in the area on Friday night. The vehicle had dark tinted windows, rust on the rocker panels and black molding on the doors.
The woman drives through the neighborhood every three days or so selling shaved ice, tamales and corn on the cob from a minivan, according to neighbors and police. She allegedly hit the 1-year-old as she made a U-turn, police said, then drove away. It was still unclear whether the driver knew the toddler had been struck. Anyone with information about the crash can call Taylorsville police dispatch at 801-743-7000.
Funeral details are still being planned. An account in the girl's name was scheduled to be open today at Wells Fargo Bank.