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PROVO — Elsa Vara is mourning the death of Rosa Merino. The two have been like sisters for years, she said.
“She was my best friend,” Vara said. “I have known her for 15 years.”
Merino, 42, was crossing University Avenue near 700 North in a crosswalk when she was hit by a 1987 GMC pickup truck Wednesday morning, Provo Police Lt. Mathew Siufanua said.
Vara said she was shocked when she heard her friend had been hit by a truck and killed.
“I was surprised when the police called me,” she said. “I am very sad because she (was) very young. She has worked hard to be with her three girls in the United States.”
Merino, whose daughters are 16, 14 and 12, was from Peru and had also lived in Argentina. They have no family in the country willing to take them in. The Utah Department of Child and Family Services has custody of the girls until other arrangements can be made.
Police say the driver, a 49-year-old man from Provo, admitted he was distracted moments before the accident.
“He was driving southbound on University Avenue, and he was looking down, and so we can’t even establish whether he had a proper light,” Siufanua said. “He believes that he did, but we believe he was distracted just for a minute.”
Police said the man was not texting or using his cellphone at the time of the accident. Still, that moment of distraction could result in criminal charges.
“Investigators have pieced together as much information as they have been able to collect, and the prosecutors are now looking at possible charges of distracted driving,” Siufanua said.
The funeral for Merino was scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. at the LDS Chapel at 150 W. 800 North in Provo.
An *account has been set up for the daughters of Merino. People can donate to "The Three Molina Girls" at any Wells Fargo Bank (not Merino, their mom's name — Molina is the girls' last name.) People can also donate to a fund for the daughters at Provo High School.
*KSL.com
