OCEANSIDE, Calif — Authorities are asking for the public's help in finding the driver in a hit-and-run that killed a cyclist in Oceanside near State Route 76 and Singh Way on Thursday, March 21.
"If she was here she would be like all of this for me? You don't need to do all of this. I love you guys that's what she would say. I love you guys," said Helen St. John, a friend of Gross.
Loved ones created a memorial in honor of Tracey Gross and say they're stunned by her sudden loss.
"Tracey is my bestfriend," St. John said. "We talked everyday. We worked together. She was the type of person who was loving and caring. She would give you her last dollar and the shirt off her back."
She said Gross loved riding her bike and it was her only mode of transportation. She believes Gross was on the way home from her boyfriend's house Thursday evening when she was hit. The Oceanside Police say the bike was found about two miles down the road, near State Route 76 and and College Boulevard.
"We're missing a beautiful soul. Someone took her life and she's gone from all of us. She's gonna be missed forever," St. John said.
Police are searching for the driver of a silver 2013 or 2015 Kia Optima. It has damage to the right front bumper, missing parts to the engine under cover, and the right headlight. Police say it is believed that the driver of the Kia lives in the neighborhood where the crash happened.
The public is asked to contact the Oceanside Police Traffic Collision Investigator Jose Gomez at (760) 435-4952 or via email at jigomez@oceansideca.org with any information.
A GoFundMe has been set up to help support her family.