Almost two months after a Hollister resident was killed by a
rare hit-and-run on McCloskey Road, police still have no suspects
and family members have no closure.
Almost two months after a Hollister resident was killed by a rare hit-and-run on McCloskey Road, police still have no suspects and family members have no closure.
Ray Villegas, 31, was walking in the area of 1360 McCloskey Rd. the night of Sunday, June 6, when a champagne-colored Jeep Grand Cherokee struck him from behind and killed him, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Through investigation, the CHP determined the Jeep was made between the years 1994 and 1999, and have investigated three tips from residents over the past two months – none of which matched, said CHP Officer Terry Mayes.
“They were close but no cigar,” she said. “The bottom line is that there’s a possibility we’ll always be able to find them, but the reality is that it takes a significant amount of luck or somebody who has a guilty conscience to make it come full circle.”
Mayes believes there is more than one person who knows who hit Villegas and hopes they will do the right thing and “give up the ghost,” she said.
The last tip came during the Gilroy Garlic Festival, in which Villegas’ family called the CHP and said they had seen a vehicle fitting the description at the event, Mayes said.
After checking out the vehicle, officers determined it wasn’t a match to the Jeep, she said.
As every day goes by without more information the possibility of finding who killed Villegas decreases, Mayes said. The damage done to Villegas’ family is worse, though, she said.
“They never get closure – they probably have that thought in their mind when they see somebody that’s even in a reasonably close vehicle of, ‘I wonder if that’s them,'” Mayes said. “To not have closure has got to be such suffering.”
The CHP is also looking for a small white sedan they believe could have witnessed the incident.
Anyone with information about the incident or concerning either vehicle is asked to call the Hollister/Gilroy California Highway Patrol at (408) 848-2324 or 1-866-502-5058.
