MILWAUKEE — The family of Tai Rosa Perez is stunned by her unexpected death.
The 38-year-old was killed in a hit-and-run on Monday. The driver and passenger haven't been caught.
Now, the family is asking for accountability and action for the tragedy that shocked an entire neighborhood.
“I saw the truck or the car lights and I thought it was going to go in the house,” said Safire Juarez
Juarez lives feet away from the crash site and was having a sleepover with her kids in their living room when they woke to the collision.
“I still have the noise in my head and I’m still shocked. I’m really scared to drive now,” Juarez told TMJ4.
That fear and shock extends to Perez’s family. On Wednesday, her aunt and uncle stopped by a makeshift memorial at the crash site to honor their niece.
“She was a really nice person, a really nice person and she'll be remembered forever,” said Perez’s uncle, Sal Gonzalez.
Watch: Family of hit-and-run victim search for accountability, action
“She's very special for us and I don’t know what happened,” her aunt, Adaiz Gonzalez, told TMJ4.
Others close to Perez posted on Facebook sharing their grief and outrage, saying in part:
“We want justice and a cone-covered truck isn't enough, a photo op with Cavalier Johnson and a speech about his "try's" isn't enough. We want the thugs found and we want the DA to hold them accountable for the theft of our light Tai Rosa Pérez.”
Just hours after that post, the mayor spoke about the city's successes when it comes to traffic calming.
TMJ4’s Mariam Mackar read that post to him and asked, “What's your response to that family?”
The mayor responded by expressing his condolences to the family for their loss.
“A young lady losing her life, that shouldn’t happen,” said Johnson. “That’s the whole reason we’re taking on reckless driving in the ways that we’re doing it. I happen to agree with the family— I want those individuals found as well, and I want those individuals to be prosecuted as well. There's still more work to do, and we'll continue to do that work through various means.”
Until then, Perez's family is forced to remember their lost loved one as they wait for justice.
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