Mother killed in Peninsula pedestrian crash leaves behind special needs daughter

(KRON) — A devoted mother described as having a “heart full of kindness” was struck and killed by a vehicle last week as she walked across an intersection on the city lines of Burlingame and San Mateo.

The Burlingame Police Department responded at 6:22 p.m. on Sept. 12 to the intersection of Peninsula Avenue and Dwight Road on a report of a pedestrian-involved vehicle collision. The pedestrian, identified in a verified GoFundMe as Yolanda Villar, was located and transported to a local trauma center, where she was pronounced deceased.

A preliminary investigation of the collision found that Villar was crossing Peninsula Avenue northward when a vehicle making a left turn onto Peninsula struck her, according to Burlingame police. The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene, authorities said, and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

“Yolanda was not just a mother,” a GoFundMe established for the family stated, she was the “greatest protector and fiercest advocate” for her 18-year-old special needs daughter. “Everything she did was for her daughter. To those who knew her, Yolanda’s love for Stephanie was her life’s purpose. She believed that God placed her on this earth to ensure Stephanie was safe, loved, and cared for.”

Yolanda Villar, victim of a fatal pedestrian collision on the San Francisco Peninsula, photographed with her daughter. Image courtesy of GoFundMe.

After Villar’s passing, the fundraiser said that her sister “now faces the emotional and financial weight of raising Stephanie for the rest of her life.” Villar’s sister is her only family in the United States, and also cares for a special needs son, according to the GoFundMe.

The fundraiser’s goal “is to raise enough funds to ensure that Stephanie continues to live with the dignity and love her mother so fiercely provided, even though Yolanda is no longer here to guide her.”

Authorities are asking any witnesses to the fatal collision to contact Traffic Division Sergeant Jason Roberts at the Burlingame Police Department.

​(KRON) — A devoted mother described as having a “heart full of kindness” was struck and killed by a vehicle last week as she walked across an intersection on the city lines of Burlingame and San Mateo. The Burlingame Police Department responded at 6:22 p.m. on Sept. 12 to the intersection of Peninsula Avenue and […]