Austin family searching for driver who killed father, daughter in hit-and-run

AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin family is desperate for help as they search for a driver who hit a beloved father and daughter this past June. 

"She was always really happy," said Gabriela Rodriguez. "Like, if she was right here right now, she'd be in the front camera, trying to be in the front camera. That's what she was." 

Was. It's a word Gabriela Rodriguez never dreamed she'd use to describe her daughter.

"My daughter was supposed to be at my funeral," said Rodriguez. "Not me at hers." 

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Three-year-old Azeneth Gomez and her father Jonathan Gomez-Guajardo were out driving on June 23 near Delta Post Drive and FM 969.

"I was actually home getting our stuff ready because we were planning on going to Galveston on Saturday morning," said Rodriguez. "I was home doing that. He was just cruising the girls around."

DPS said a red Chevrolet pickup hit Jonathan and Azeneth's vehicle.

Medics pronounced them dead on the scene.

Troopers said they found a cellphone and alcohol inside the pickup that hit them, but the driver was nowhere to be found.

"He's out there living life like nothing happened, and I'm at my house just crying worried about what am I going to do next," said Rodriguez. "Why my husband? Why my daughter?" 

A search warrant by DPS lists two men as the possible driver: Salavador Mata Garcia or Luis Rodolfo Mata Limon.

According to the documents, Garcia is the registered owner of the pickup, but when troopers contacted him, Garcia had already reported his vehicle stolen, and his son, Luis, was not answering his calls or showing up to work since the time of the crash.

The documents add that Luis has access to the pickup.

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 "Why is he not in jail?" said Rosa Gomez, Jonathan’s mother and Azeneth’s grandmother. "Why haven't they catched him? "Why is he not getting charged yet? You know, we need to get answers for that because this monster can be out tonight, like I said, he can be harming somebody tonight, some other family tonight."

Jonathan and Azeneth's family are suing both men, seeking one million for their deaths and the lifelong anguish to come.

But more than that, they want to see the driver behind bars.

"Turn yourself in," said Gomez. "We already know who you are. Why are you hiding, you know? We just need to get justice for my son and my granddaughter."

If you have any information about the crash that may help, the family asks you to call DPS.