Immokalee mother killed in hit-and-run

IMMOKALEE, Fla.- Family members call it cowardly after someone hit and killed a young Southwest Florida mother, then sped off.

25-year-old Crystal Olvera’s loved ones have a powerful message for the driver: you can run, but you can’t hide.

Troopers say Olvera wanted to buy milk for her children Sunday night.

She was walking in the parking lot of a Winn-Dixie on Lake Trafford Road when she was hit.

“They are cowards. Whoever did it is a coward,” said Olvera’s cousin Sanjuana Alfao.

Officials say Olvera tried to move out of the way, but was hit by the vehicle. According to authorities, the driver backed up then drove around the young mother and took off.

Florida Highway Patrol is investigating an older model GMC Suburban at the Crestview Circle Apartment Complex.

Troopers towed away the GMC Suburban, and tell WINK News the SUV could possibly have been involved with the crash.

“How could you know you hit somebody, pull reverse, look out the window, see someone laying there and just go around them,” said Alfao.

Olvera was the mother of a 7-year-old boy and an 11-month-old baby girl who’s still breastfeeding.

“She was a great mother. She was just learning to be the best of the best,” said family member Jamie Lopez.

Now Olvera’s son and little girl will grow up without their mother.

“Her biggest fear was for her children to grow up the way she did, without a mother,” said Alfao.

“Her life was just, her children were her everything,” said Lopez.

Now, an entire family is coming together not only remember Olvera, but to send a message to the person who killed her.

“Someone knows something, they are out there. You can run, but you can’t hide,” said Lopez.

Troopers believe the vehicle that hit Olvera was a 1992-1999 Chevrolet Tahoe or a GMC Yukon.

If you have any information about this case, call Florida Highway Patrol.