Mother of three killed in hit-and-run crash. She was walking home from work in a storm
It was supposed to be another usual walk home for Jeanette Berrios. She had done the walk at least a hundred times from her Homestead home to her job at Burger King and back again. An hour-and-a half walk. About 10,000 steps.
Friday night, it was her last, as she was killed by a driver who hit her and took off. Five days after the 55-year-old mother of three was killed, police hadn’t yet identified a suspect as of Wednesday.
Just before 12:24 a.m. Saturday, Berrios was almost home. Rain had been pounding on her as a severe thunderstorm rolled overhead. Right outside Winchester Apartments, 16440 SW 304th St., where she lived, she was struck by a dark-colored, possibly burgundy or maroon, sedan, Miami-Dade police said.
She died in the road. In her home, two of her sons were waiting for her and starting to get worried. It was now 2 a.m. and their mother still wasn’t home. They threw on their shoes and headed out, prepared to walk the path Berrios usually takes from work, said Berrios’ niece Christine Sotomayor.
As they neared the entrance of the apartment complex, they saw the police lights. A neighbor walked up to them and told them something had happened there. There was a body in the road.
“That’s when my cousin was like, ‘Oh my God. I think that’s my mom,’ ” Sotomayor said.
The neighbor quickly asked police if it was their mother who was killed. Officers told him it was.
“My two cousins went into complete shock,” Sotomayor said. “When they got home, they couldn’t believe it.”
Berrios is part of a large family, at least a hundred relatives. She was the fourth of seven siblings, Sotomayor said. Her children were in such shock they waited hours to tell their family.
“We were all devastated. We’re still in shock,” Sotomayor said. “The lack of humanity that was there, it’s unreal. How can someone hit somebody and leave them there? In a storm?”
Sotomayor said her aunt was a kind woman, someone who thought of others before herself.
“Anything she had she would give to others even if she didn’t have much herself,” she said. “She never did anything wrong to anybody. She had such an amazing soul.”
Berrios had worked for Burger King for about seven months, Sotomayor said. Burger King released a statement about Berrios.
“We were deeply saddened to hear of the tragic death of Jeanette Berrios on Saturday. The franchisee is fully cooperating with authorities on this matter, and has set up a GoFundMe to help support Jeanette’s family. As well, the Burger King McLamore Foundation is working to provide additional support to her family through the BK Family Fund. Our deepest sympathies go out to everyone affected by this senseless tragedy.”
The family is asking for $12,000 for funeral expenses and the GoFundMe has already raised $4,905. You can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/funeral-expenses-for-jeannette-berrios.
“Jeanette was a loving daughter, sister, aunt, friend, wife and devoted mother to her three sons Christopher, Jonathan and Matthew,” the GoFundMe said.
If you have any information on the hit and run, police ask you to call Traffic Homicide Detective M.J. Martinez at 305-471-2425. If you wish to remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477 or 866-471-8477.
If a tip leads to an arrest, you can be eligible for up to $3,000.
This story was originally published February 6, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
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