Hit-And-Run Victim: 'There's No Way She's Going Out Without A Fight'

JOLIET, IL — After spending several days hospitalized after being hit by a hit-and-run motorist, Joliet resident Ana Martinez-Velasco is now home recuperating and undergoing physical therapy, according to her daughter, Jasmine Velasco.

"She is our mother and there's no way she's going out without a fight," Velasco told Joliet Patch. "The upside is she is doing physical therapy and learning to walk again.

"She is a soldier, and I'm proud she's not giving up."

Joliet Patch asked the Joliet Police Department to track down the details of last weekend's hit-and-run crash, since the person responsible for causing Martinez-Velasco's injuries has not turned themselves into police.

Police spokesman Dwayne English notified Joliet Patch the hit-and-run collision happened around 11:35 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 near Collins Street and Ward Avenue.

According to English: the 46-year-old woman was standing near the driver’s side of a vehicle, which was parked facing northbound on Collins Street. That's when someone driving a dark sedan was northbound on Collins Street, and the passenger side of the sedan struck Martinez-Velasco, who was working in the kitchen at the nearby Rey De Copas bar.

Police said the sedan continued northbound on Collins Street without stopping to provide aid or information. Marintez-Velasco suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Ascension St Joseph Medical Center by a Joliet Fire Department ambulance.

Velasco said her mother remained at St. Joe's hospital until being discharged Thursday.

Joliet Patch wrote about Martinez-Velasco and her daughter back in January when they reopened the La Catrina Bistro on North Hickory Street. It closed in August.

According to Jasmine Velasco, "she was hit by a car standing outside my car window and was tossed in front of my truck. The car didn't stop, we couldn't catch a license plate. We were on the 709 Collins St. in Joliet, she was working as a cook and was serving me tacos to go, and next thing I know, the black Chevy hit her and didn't stop."

Martinez-Velasco has been working every weekend in the kitchen at the Rey De Copas bar on Collins Street, according to her daughter.

During an interview in January, Velasco-Martinez told Patch she is originally from Chicago, graduating from Tilden High School. She later attended Lewis University, obtaining a bachelor's in criminal justice. At one point during the 1990s, she lived in Kentucky, working as a sheriff's deputy in Covington.

"It was so sudden," Jasmine Velasco told Patch. "Having a deep conversation with mom and the next (moment) she was gone. This careless person almost took our mother from us. I couldn't imagine how cruel this person must be."

According to Joliet police, the identification of the driver of the sedan is still unknown at this time. Anyone with information regarding this hit-and-run collision is encouraged to contact the Joliet Police Department Traffic Unit at (815)724-3013.