CINCINNATI — Friends and family gathered Sunday evening to remember the life of a mother killed in a hit-and-run crash on Christmas morning in West Price Hill.
Cincinnati police identified the woman as 28-year-old Ladre Gibson.
The crash happened around 2:30 a.m. on West 8th St.
Ladre's family said the crash happened just five minutes away from her home. She was on her way to spend Christmas with her family, but the mother of two never made it.
Friends and family gathered at the same street where Ladre was killed Sunday evening, their hearts heavy as they honored her life.
Police said Ladre was attempting to turn left on Trenton Avenue when another driver crossed the centerline and hit her. WCPO was at the scene of the crash and saw both cars flipped near the Sunoco. One was flipped in the street, the other near the gas pumps.
Ladre's mother is angry that the person who police said caused the crash fled the scene on foot and did not help her daughter.
"You left her dead. You could have called 911. You left my baby right here for dead. You knew you hit her. You jumped out your car and ran," said Connie Gibson, Ladre's mother.
Ladre was taken to UC Medical Center, where she died, police said.
Her death leaves friends and family with grief and disbelief.
"We just kind of holding on. You know, it's just ... it's hard. She was amazing. She was funny. She wore every color hair in the rainbow. She had a really good spirit. She worked two to three jobs sometimes trying to take care of her children," said Ladre's great-aunt, Bernadatte Hampton-Dufau.
As the family mourns, they are pleading for answers.
"You hit her. She is gone. My daughter had two kids. I don't want nothing from you, just you say you hit my baby. You killed her. My grandkids' life will never be the same. It will never be the same," Connie said.
Connie is pleading with the person who hit and killed Ladre to turn themselves in.
Police believe speed and impairment played a role in the crash.
The other driver's car is described by police as a 2018 Hyundai Tucson.
Our reporter at the scene talked to someone who saw the crash. He claims the driver of the 2018 Hyundai was going too fast on the wrong side of the road before it hit the other car.
"It's scary. It's scary. You know, and I try to talk to the younger generation, because they think it's cool to be high-risk drivers and doing 50, 60 miles an hour in a 25 mile zone, 35 mile zone. Like, it's just not safe, you know. And it's definitely not safe to be around here drinking and driving. You know what I'm saying? Definitely not. So you mix the alcohol with unsafe drivers and it's a recipe for disaster," said YC Arnold, who witnessed the crash.
Cincinnati Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call the Cincinnati Police's Traffic Unit at 1-513-352-2514.
