ELK GROVE, Calif — For the family of Edward Villasenor, the last four years haven't gotten any easier. Villasenor was killed by an SUV while bringing in his trash cans in Elk Grove, and the family is still left waiting to learn who killed him.
Villasenor was hit and killed Nov. 7, 2019. It was his wedding anniversary.
Christina Gentil was getting ready to visit her father and sister over at his house when she got a call, urging her to stop by because somebody had died.
Gentil made her way to Waterman Road but was stopped by police en route to her father's house.
"The police just kind of looked at me and I said, 'Can you tell me if he's alive? 'And he (the officer) told me, 'No.' So we walked all the way around... it was a horrific scene," said Gentil.
Authorities said he was hit by a red older modeled Chevy or GMC SUV. She said the family hasn't heard anything since he died.
"I feel like he was taken from us. It was more, you know, he was killed. He was hurt, rather than if somebody would have stopped and at least told us what happened and gave us some justice," said Gentil.
That desire for justice hasn't faded. She said in those four years, the family has lived to live in peace, but it hasn't gotten easier to live with.
Gentil will hear about hit-and-runs in Elk Grove and Sacramento and says her heart goes out to those people going through such tragedies. She's grateful when someone is held accountable, but throughout the years, she continues to hope her dad's killer will be found too. She said her family even takes pictures of older red SUVs to send in.
"We would like answers, and I'm sure that there are hundreds of hit-and-run unsolved cases out there. But when it's your own dad and it hits at home, you always want to move your case to the top. You want those answers," said Gentil.
One of those questions, "Does he know who he took from us?"
Family members said her father was the landscape contractor, who built more than 50 parks across the Sacramento area before retiring. But he was also the glue to the family.
"It hasn't been the same," said Gentil. "He was one that you look up to he was everybody's mentor."
The family's request is simple: just come forward.
"I knew that the gentleman that hit my dad must have a family member, a neighbor, or somebody that recognized the car. Somebody that knows something, and I just pray that it never happens to their family, for them not coming forward. You know, my dad was the love of our lives and he was very special, all that he touched."
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