Hit-and-run victim beefs up reward to help catch driver

PACIFIC BEACH — Leslie Nunez doesn’t remember the night a hit-and-run driver nearly killed her, but she still gets chills when she goes back to the Pacific Beach intersection where it happened.

After multiple surgeries and a year of rehabilitation, Nunez, 28, of Rancho San Diego returned to make one last attempt to catch the person who changed her life.

Yesterday she announced that she would put up her own money to boost the $1,000 San Diego Crimestoppers reward to $2,500 for information that leads to the arrest of the hit-and-run driver.

“I have to know that I did everything I could,” Nunez said as she sat at an outdoor restaurant table. “I hope the person is caught and I can get some closure in my life.”

About 9:40 p.m. on Aug. 10, 2007, Nunez and two friends were walking to a restaurant from her Pacific Beach apartment. As they crossed Grand Avenue at Cass Street, Nunez and Ashley Wolf, 24, of San Marcos were struck by an early-2000s-model Nissan Maxima sedan, possibly with custom rims and tinted windows. Witnesses said there were two women in the car.

Nunez suffered head injuries and broken bones in her knee, wrist and arm. Wolf had a concussion, broken bones and a torn knee ligament.

Nunez said she and her friend have recovered, but they still bear scars. Nunez has difficulty walking and only partial use of her right hand. Her long convalescence cost Nunez her job, and she was forced to move to her parents’ home so they could care for her.

Although she was able to find a job in human resources two months ago, she still has $230,000 in medical bills that weren’t covered by insurance.

“I’m not ever going to be 100 percent,” Nunez said. “There’s only so much you can do.”

Police are asking anyone with information on the hit-and-run crash to call (888) 580-TIPS or go to sdcrimestoppers.com.

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Source: Steve Liewer. The San Diego Union – Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Aug 11, 2008.  pg. B.4