A lady who was killed by a rock hurled at her window on a Southern California roadway has been named, and the search for her killer continues.
On October 8, Sarina Rodriguez, 25, and her boyfriend were on their way home to Lancaster. At approximately 12:10 a.m., they were driving on Highway 138, just east of Highway 18, in the Antelope Valley area.
Franko Martinez describes the tense moment when he heard a popping sound and saw Sarina, who was driving at the time, fall unconscious.
He instantly seized the steering wheel to stop the automobile. He then saw a hole in the windshield.
Somewhere along the highway, a suspect threw a rock at their windshield, shattering it and killing Sarina.
Martinez phoned the cops after pulling over, but no suspects were identified after a thorough search of the neighborhood.
Martinez noticed another vehicle passing them in the opposite direction just as the rock was fired.
“Before we got to the bend, a vehicle with headlights came, and then [I heard] a pop noise,” he told Shelby Nelson of KTLA.
It is unknown whether the rock was thrown from a passing vehicle or by someone on the side of the road.
Just two days before, on October 6, another car reported being hit by a rock that shattered their windshield, hurting two persons. The event occurred in the same area late at night, about 11:30 p.m.
On Thursday, October 10, the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station informed KTLA that a suspect, Alexander Veloz, had been apprehended for allegedly hurling rocks at motorists on the same morning Sarina was killed.
However, investigators are unsure whether he is linked to either Sarina’s case or the October 6 incident. He was also caught between Avenue F and Sierra Highway, which is more than 40 miles from where Sarina was targeted.
The woman’s family is heartbroken as they remember a lovely daughter and sister who brightened their days with her vibrant attitude.
“She was just so happy,” Sarina’s sister, Sylvia Perez, explained. “My sister was full of life.”
“She was a lot of joy,” Sarina’s father, Danny Rodriguez, said.
Her friends and family are left with numerous unanswered questions. Most significantly, they are hoping that the individual responsible for her killing will be apprehended soon.
“I just want to see justice,” Danny remarked.
“She is something that we can never get back,” said Sarina’s brother, George Rodriguez. “I really hope they find the [suspect].”
Her family intends to memorialize her memory by erecting a huge wooden cross near the location where she died.
A GoFundMe campaign to assist the Rodriguez family with funeral costs may be found here.
“Please inform the authorities of any suspicious activity in the area because it’s time to catch this person,” a relative told me.
“Given these recurring incidents, the California Highway Patrol Southern Division Major Crimes Unit and the CHP Antelope Valley Area are actively investigating these incidents and are seeking assistance from the community,” according to detectives.
Anyone with information on the case can call the California Highway Patrol at 323-259-3200.
