Husband tracks down 85-year-old hit-and-run driver who killed mom of 8, L.A. cops say
After his 48-year-old wife, a mom of eight, died following a Wednesday hit-and-run crash on her motorcycle, Rod Richardson felt he had to do something, KNBC reported.
“When you have your older kids falling on the ground crying cause they have no control, your younger kids waking you up in the middle of the night saying they missed her, it’s a lot,” he said, according to the station.
On Friday, while he was looking for the vehicle involved in the Corona, California, crash that killed Brenda Richardson, he pulled into an apartment parking lot near the crash and spotted a damaged 2006 Lexus ES330, The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
“My heart dropped when I looked over,” Rod Richardson said, KNBC reported. He called police, who later arrested Tashiro Isa, 85, on suspicion of hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter.
Brenda Richardson of Eastvale died of her injuries Thursday after her motorcycle hit a vehicle at River Road and Kalus Avenue on Wednesday night, KTLA reported.
She was thrown 30 feet in the crash, KNBC reported.
Brenda Richardson, a Navy veteran, had eight children, The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
“My wife was the person who made everyone comfortable and happy,” Rod Richardson wrote on Facebook, according to the publication. “The person that would take all the pain before anyone was ever blamed, because she didn’t want anyone else to feel hurt or resentment.”
She also worked for the Veterans Administration for over 20 years, KTLA reported. “She’s touched people all over the country,” Rod Richardson said.
A former police officer, he said he set out to find the hit-and-run driver who killed his wife to try to give their eight children some closure, according to the station.
Her family has created a GoFundMe account to cover the expenses of her death. The page had raised more than $7,400 toward its $20,000 goal as of Sunday morning.
Corona police asked that anyone with information on the collision call Officer Jason Gardner at 951-817-5784.
This story was originally published February 9, 2020 at 8:27 AM with the headline "Husband tracks down 85-year-old hit-and-run driver who killed mom of 8, L.A. cops say."