With information provided to San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol
A Sylmar family is mourning the loss of Aurora Reynozo, an 87-year-old grandmother who was killed by a suspected impaired driver when getting dropped off at home after attending church service.
“Everyone called her mom,” said her son Joel Reynozo, who has received condolence calls from everyone in the community, and as far as North Carolina to El Salvador.
According to police, a northbound Ford Fusion struck the parked car on the 14000 block of Foothill Boulevard at 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 7. The driver of the parked car was not seriously injured, but the passenger was thrown from the vehicle, landing head-first on the ground.
She later died of her injuries.
The allegedly impaired driver continued north on Foothill, eventually coming to a stop after striking several other vehicles. Police have identified the driver as 33-year-old Juan Martinez, and according to sheriff’s records, he was jailed in lieu of $2 million bail.
Reynozo told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol that he wants to bring awareness to drunk driving and this “senseless killing.” He has witnessed multiple crashes on the same street and believes there needs to be greater enforcement after hours to prevent future incidents.
“My mom was a woman of faith. She fed the whole world, and never judged anyone,” he said, recalling how his mother’s door was always open to the community. “She was old school, they don’t make ‘em like that anymore.”
If you wish to support the Reynozo family, there is a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral and memorial expenses at https://www.gofundme.com/f/aurora-reynozo.