Inset: Jeana Flores (Facebook). Background: The area where Jeana Flores’ body was found after she was mowed down and killed by a hit-and-run driver in California (KRON/YouTube).
A Northern California teen who was “walking back home” after doing laundry at a relative’s house was mowed down and killed by a hit-and-run driver, according to her family and police. The last text she sent out before her death was to her stepmom and said, “Tonight I finally saw the Little Dipper.”
Jeana Flores, 17, was found on the side of an Antioch road on Friday around 3:30 a.m. near the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in the area of L Street between West 18th and West 10th streets, according to a police press release, which labels the incident as a “hit-and-run.”
Officers responded and “immediately rendered medical aid” but were unable to save Jeana, whose death appeared to be “suspicious” based on preliminary information and evidence. The teen’s family told local Fox and ABC affiliates KTVU and KGO, respectively, that she was walking home late Friday after doing laundry at the relative’s home.
A fight had occurred between Jeana and her boyfriend, her uncle says.
“She was heading back home from doing laundry,” uncle Elias Flores told KGO. “She got into an argument with her boyfriend. She ended up walking back home.”
Police told the family that Jeana was struck by a driver sometime after 9:30 p.m., which is when she sent her final text message to her stepmother, Jenna Lee.
“Tonight, I finally saw the Little Dipper,” Jeana told Lee, per KTVU.
An autopsy conducted by the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office determined that Jeana died from injuries sustained from a high-impact vehicle collision.
“Her spine was broken,” said Joseph Flores, Jeana’s father, in an interview with KTVU. “You have to hit someone hella hard for her spine to be broken … and then left her like that.”
The grieving dad added, “How do you register that? You can’t. I’m still in denial.”
Jeana’s family says she was just three blocks from home when she was struck, according to KTVU. The teen was in the process of enrolling in Job Corps at Treasure Island, where she was interested in training as a chef.
“There needs to be justice for her,” Jeana’s dad said. “She was only 17. She just started life.”
Elias Flores told KGO, “She was trying to become a chef. That was her dream. That was her goal.” He noted on Facebook how Jeana “called a few weeks back asking advice on how to get closer to God,” according to a post.
“She asked if I would call her and keep her accountable about praying and reading the Bible,” Elias Flores said in the post.
Police were still investigating Wednesday and searching for the driver who was responsible.
“For you to take her life away and have no guilt … turn yourself in,” Lee told KTVU. “I don’t get it.”
