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Troopers ID woman fatally struck in Pine Hills hit-and-run crash

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A 49-year-old woman was fatally struck Monday evening in a hit-and-run crash while she was crossing a street in Orange County’s Pine Hills neighborhood, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Jeanette Hernandez, 49, of Yonkers, New York, was struck shortly after 8:30 p.m. while she crossed North Pine Hills Road near Balboa Drive, Trooper Steven Montiero said.

The mother of three was first hit by a Buick SUV driven by Ruben Rivera, 53, of Orlando, before she was run over by another vehicle, Montiero said.

Rivera stopped at the crash scene, but investigators said the other motorist fled.

Witnesses provided troopers with different descriptions of the second vehicle, and investigators are still trying to determine what kind of vehicle it was, Montiero said.

Alecia Ortiz told Channel 9 that Hernandez is her sister and believes she may have been lost before the crash. Hernandez told family that she left dinner to walk to a store, but called a friend to say she was lost and was trying to get directions.

"She had two strokes already and she was on medication," said Noemi Osorio, a friend of Hernandez.

“I [saw] a car going north, coming down the highway,” witness George Robinson said. “A guy ran in front of the car, got hit, then he [was lying] in the road and never moved again.”

"I think she was trying to cross the street," Ortiz said. "Of the five of us, there's only two of us left.  It is sad."

"She just came from Pennsylvania. like, a week ago. We had just organized her room and all that," Osorio said.

The crash was the fourth hit-and-run crash in Central Florida in two weeks, officials said.

“It's Orlando,” Robinson said. “Everything is crazy.”

The crash remains under investigation.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Crimeline at 407-423-8477.