San Marcos reacts to hit-and-run

SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) - The search continues for a hit-and-run driver who hit a pregnant woman walking in San Marcos on Tuesday night.

Diann Ford died Thursday at University Medical Center Brackenridge, but her baby girl survived after doctors delivered her by Ceasaren section.

Ford was due to give birth to her second child in a few weeks, when a car hit her as she crossed the westbound frontage road of Interstate Highway 35 near State Highway 80 around 11 p.m. Tuesday.

Ford was walking home from work at Long John Silver's when it happened.

"I saw her walking every day, man," said Shell Mart manager Rick Ramos.

Ramos says he gave he frequently gave Ford breakfast tacos and drinks as she passed by his store.

"She was always happy when she came in the store, good spirited, positive attitude, happy about the baby," said Ramos.

Ford already had a son named Tristan. Her second, a baby girl named Carmen, remains in good condition at UMC's pediatric ICU.

"How do you sit there and follow the birth of a child by the death of its, mother you know, that's kind of a bittersweet thing. It's just not right," said passerby Bobby Jones.

Jones was walking by the area just after the collision. He can't can't stop thinking about the newborn or the driver still on the run.

"You kind of relate to that baby, not just who you took away, that somebody loved, but you've already impacted that new life and everything like that, before it even has a chance to realize what's going on," he said.

Police say before she died Ford was able to tell them the car that hit her appeared to be dark in color and had extra bright lights, but other than that, officers have no other information about its possible make or model.

"I hope they have a conscience. I hope they do think about it and know it's only going to get worse if they don't turn themselves in," said Jones.

Friday, police searched an intersection near the crash site for pieces of a car but found nothing. They also looked for witnesses at a nearby McDonald's and searched the restaurant's surveillance video - but still no clues.

Meanwhile from Houston, Ford's foster mom told a reporter she was planning to visit for baby Carmen's birth. Instead of a celebration, she's now planning for a funeral.

"Diann was such a blessing, she was a true blessing," said Ford's foster mother Mary Rodriguez.

Police are asking for anyone who saw the hit-and-run happen, or notices a dark-colored vehicle, possibly with halogen lights and/or maybe front left damage, to give them a call.

Witnesses are urged to call Sgt. Christopher Tureaud at 512-754-2214 or on his cell at 512-738-1300.