Family and friends gathered for a candlelight vigil Tuesday, honoring the life of 21-year-old Joshua Cervantes from Tustin, who was killed exactly one year prior during a hit-and-run in Santa Ana. A suspect has not yet been identified in this case.
The fatal hit-and-run occurred around 2 a.m. in a residential area of Santa Ana at 506 West Street Gertrude Place. Cervantes and his friend, 24-year-old Amber Khan from Tustin, left a house party and had been standing next to a car for a few minutes when the hit-and-run happened, said Khan. She suffered multiple injuries and was hospitalized for three days.
Her friend Joshua, whom she had known since sophomore year of high school and considered him to be one of her best friends, died from his injuries. Despite attempts to reach detectives, Khan said she has lost hope in receiving an update from police.
Police said the two were struck by an SUV heading west and the driver fled before authorities arrived. According to Cervantes’s mother, 57-year-old Francés Morga from Tustin, police obtained some surveillance footage from neighbors that captured a side angle of the car but no other progress has been made in identifying a suspect.
A spokesperson from the Santa Ana Police Department could not be reached for comment.
“I don’t feel like I’m going to have any peace until he has justice and this person is caught,” Morga said. “The driver is still out there and might harm someone else.”
High school graduation photo of Joshua Cervantes. (Courtesy of Francés Morga)
Described as an artist with a lot of dreams, Cervantes previously studied art at Irvine Valley College and hoped to visit Japan and New York. He considered singer-songwriter Patti Smith to be one his idols and enjoyed reading comics created by Japanese manga artist Junjo Ito.
The family is offering between $15,000 to $30,000 to whomever can provide a tip leading to the perpetrator’s arrest and conviction.
Anyone with information on the hit-and-run crash is urged to contact Santa Ana Police Inv. L. Bao at 714-245-8223 or submit a tip to OC Crime Stoppers at 1-855-847-6227.
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