VALLEY SPRINGS-
While investigators look for a suspect's van that hit and killed a former officer, Jimmy Pendergrass' family is trying to make sense of such a tragedy, days before Christmas.
Pendergrass was walking to work at the Stockton Police Station along Washington Street Tuesday morning. He was in the crosswalk next to the station, when a green, 90s model van ran him over, and drove off. Pendergrass died from his injuries.
His family in Valley Springs spoke to FOX40 later that night.
"This is a present that we're not going to be able to give him," Kristina Pendergrass, Jimmy's daughter-in-law, said.
His grandkids called Jimmy "Opa", others knew him as Officer Pendergrass, a 46-year veteran of the department. He spent much of that time investigating hit-and-run accidents for the department.
"Turn yourself in, do the right thing and try to bring our family some comfort," Kristina Pendergrass said.
Christmas Eve will have a huge void around the tree for the Pendergrass family this year.
"Every time I looked at the door and standing there, it's worse than the last time, because I realized I'm never going to see him again," Father Pendergrass, Jimmy's granddaughter, said.
Jimmy's son is a Sergeant with the Stockton Police Department.
Anyone with information about the accident, or the location of the van, is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (209) 946-0600.
Video of the car was released by officers later Tuesday. The suspect vehicle is the first car seen in the video.
