BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — In the overnight hours of Saturday, August 26, Carmen Esqueda and Issac Meza were walking to their car after what was meant to be a fun night out. Security footage shows a white SUV passing by with the couple looking both ways before crossing the street. That's when family members say the unthinkable happened.
"They let the SUV pass by and they crossed the street," said Issac Meza's daughter Viviana Nunez. "The SUV reversed into them and took off."
Nunez says the family got the call around 3:00 Sunday morning saying her father and his partner, Carmen, were in the hospital after being involved in a car crash. Security footage from the Kwik Mart across the street from the El Montecito nightclub shows the white SUV driving northbound on Baker Street.
In the security footage, the couple can be seen looking both ways before crossing, then the SUV reverses into them and drives away.
Andrew Tipton with the Bakersfield Police Department says that while car versus pedestrian collisions are common, this case is new for investigators.
"There's also incidents of people assaulting people with cars that happens all the time, so this specific incident, no we haven't seen it, I haven't seen it personally, but there's all sorts of incidents happening," said Tipton.
According to family members, Meza is currently in the intensive care unit in critical condition with a traumatic brain injury. Esqueda is suffering from a spinal fracture with nerve and muscle damage.
Carmen Esqueda's daughter, Kimberly Williams, says this experience has brought the two families closer together.
"It did bring us together. We're just thankful that we're able to be this close and support each other," said Williams.
The families say all they want now is justice for their parents and to find the person responsible. BPD says the investigation is ongoing, and encourages anyone with any information about this incident to call them at 327-7111.
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