Loved ones are seeking the community’s help to bring home the body of a 16-year-old girl after she was killed in a Monrovia hit-and-run earlier this week.
The deadly collision happened around 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 5, the Monrovia Police Department confirmed, in the 800 block of W. Duarte Road.
Details on the crash are limited, but officials said a vehicle fatally struck the teen and then fled the scene. Paramedics transported the victim to a hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead.
Since then, the teen’s family members have turned to GoFundMe in hopes of raising funds to return the girl’s body to Guatemala.
The fundraiser page, originally written in Spanish, identifies the 16-year-old victim as Sulmy Merary López.
“To all kind-hearted people who would like to contribute to the funeral of my little sister Sulmy, who was born on January 9, 2009, and passed away yesterday, October 5, 2025, at the age of only 16,” reads a translation of the page, “We ask with all our hearts for your help so that we can repatriate her to Guatemala.”
The sister said that López was killed in a “terrible accident” and that she and her family hope the police will investigate and provide them with answers they “so desperately need.”
In their Wednesday morning press release, Monrovia police said detectives are actively investigating the collision and are seeking additional witnesses or surveillance footage from the area.
Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Lopez, Monrovia Police Department at 626-256-8044.To provide information anonymously, call “Crime Stoppers“ by dialing 1-800-222-TIPS(8477), or use the website lacrimestoppers.org.
Alexis Lewis contributed to this report.