Hundreds of protesters filled the streets of Pilsen on Sunday afternoon, chanting for justice and answers in a fatal hit-and-run that has remained unsolved for nine months.
Dressed in black and pink, members of the crowd marched from Harrison Park to the Chicago Police Department’s 12th District precinct, calling out the name of 22-year-old Marcela Herrera.
“When detectives ghost us and leave us with no answers, what do we do?” demonstrators shouted. “Stand up, fight back!”
Herrera was killed around 11:19 p.m. on July 21 while crossing the street at the corner of Ashland Avenue and Cullerton Street with her fiancé, 21-year-old Mauricio Leyva. Police say an unknown driver struck the couple and fled the scene, killing Herrera and seriously injuring Leyva.
Despite surveillance footage showing a dark-colored Dodge Journey leaving the area, no arrests have been made, said Chicago Police.
Nine months later, Herrera’s family says the lack of progress and communication has deepened their grief.
“How is it possible that this much time has passed, and we have no answers?” asked Naomi Herrera, the victim’s younger sister, who spoke outside the 12th district precinct during Sunday’s rally. “How is it possible that the person responsible is still out there, living freely, while my sister is gone forever?”
The march marked the family’s second rally pushing for action, as organizers say early communication with detectives has since stalled.
“At first, they were very responsive,” said Jazmin Ruiz, a close friend of Herrera and one of the rally’s organizers. “But in the last months, the detectives have not reached back out, they’re not taking calls and responding back. So we’re not going to stand still. We’re going to make noise again until we get some momentum going again.”
On the night she was killed, Herrera had been helping Ruiz at Pilsen’s Tacos y Tamales Festival, where Ruiz worked as director of logistics for Green Curtain Events, the organization that hosted the festival.
“It’s tragic that I lost her that way, doing what she loved, and she was really happy on her last day,” Ruiz said. “I’m over here starting to plan the busiest time of the year for the festival’s events, which she loves, and I don’t have her there with me to do it anymore. Her life was just beginning, and she was just ready to thrive, and she had so many plans.”
Ruiz said the lack of resolution has made it difficult to grieve.
“I’ve still not fully accepted that this happened,” she said. “There’s times where I just literally sit and cry and think, ‘I can’t believe this is real.’”
Leaders with the Chicago Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, an independent city department focused on CPD oversight and systemic police reform, joined the march, saying Herrera’s case reflects a broader pattern across Chicago.
“We were created for situations like this, because they happen far too often,” said Leonardo Quintero, chair of the 12th District council.
He said he is currently working with at least 10 other families in the 12th District facing similar frustrations.
“This is how cases go cold,” said Rosemarie Dominguez, who represents the 10th district. “When there’s no communication where there is no urgency, the system fails and families are left carrying the burden of grief and the search for answers on their own.”
The commission will host a public meeting April 30 at DePaul College Prep focused on support for victims of violent crime and needed reforms.
The Herrera family attorney, Roberto Mario Martínez, also spoke, crediting public pressure with pushing authorities to treat the case as a criminal investigation.
“It’s of paramount concern that we continue to make these demonstrations, to push the city into a position where they’re more likely to investigate these sorts of crimes,” Martínez said.
Herrera’s family is urging anyone with information to come forward. Anonymous tips can be submitted by texting “CPD Tip” to 738-477.́
“To the person who did this: you made a choice,” Herrera said. “You left her there, you ran. But you cannot outrun what you did. And we will not stop fighting until you are found. And to anyone that knows something, do the right thing. Speak up, help bring justice to my sister and peace to my family.”
The march concluded with a moment of silence at the intersection of Ashland Avenue and Cullerton Street, where Herrera was killed.
“My sister will not be another cold case,” Herrera said. “She had dreams, she had a future and her life mattered. We refuse to let her be forgotten.”
