73-year-old Otilia Corona’s family reached out to KHOU 11 to get the word out about the deadly hit-and-run that claimed her life.

HOUSTON — On the same corner where we noticed another emergency call on Wednesday, a cross and flowers commemorate the life of Otilia Corona.

“She was here, she was going to go that way, she was thrown all the way over there,” Otilia’s son, Manuel Corona, said.

Two of her seven children spoke exclusively with KHOU 11 about the 73-year-old who also leaves behind more than a dozen grandchildren and a longtime husband.



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“Anybody that knew her, that got to know her, fell in love with her,” another son, Victor Corona, said. “She was so sweet.”

Houston police said the driver of a possibly dark-colored vehicle fatally struck Corona just before 10 a.m. last Friday as she tried to cross Collingsworth Street at Maury Street outside of a designated pedestrian crossing. Her family said she was on a morning walk and just yards from her home. They add that people, perhaps including the driver who hit Otilia, often travel at high rates of speed along this stretch.

“She was the rock of the family.” Houston Police say a driver struck and killed 73-year-old Otilia Corona last week before leaving the scene. I’m told the hit and run happened on the beloved grandmother’s morning walk just yards from her home. My story only on @KHOU #khou11 pic.twitter.com/08A5qtlTZg

— Jason Miles (@JMilesKHOU) August 12, 2026

“Take responsibility for what you did,” Victor Corona said. “I mean, I don’t know if he’s even able to sleep at night knowing he did that.”

There is a Flock camera near the scene that may have captured something. Houston Police Department investigators said the investigation is ongoing as the family awaits closure.

“If they find the car, I want them to pay for what they did,” Manuel Corona said. “They didn’t kill an animal, they killed a person.”

“She was like the root of everybody,” Victor Corona said. “She brought everybody, all of us, together. Every Christmas, every Thanksgiving, we were right here with her, because of her.”

Right now, it’s unclear if the driver was a man or a woman. But anyone with information should call police.

At the very least, the driver who police said left the scene could face charges of failing to stop and render aid, which is a felony.

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