Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies are still searching for the driver who hit a Newhall man Sunday night and kept driving.

“They need to come forward and give us their side of the story,” said Traffic Bureau Sgt. Shoemaker. “There’s a difference between the cause of the collision and what happened afterwards, so we want to find out exactly what their thought was.”

Mariano Sanchez, 51, died in a hospital from his injuries around five hours after he was struck in Newhall at around 9 p.m., according to Nancy Arteaga, who was married to Sanchez’s son, Ivan.

Sanchez’s family is also holding a funeral fundraiser Sunday 9 a.m. at Newhall Park, where people can attend and purchase food and beverages, Artiaga said.

The fundraising event is scheduled from 9 a.m. until everything is sold, according to a flyer for the event.

“The seven years that I’ve known him, he always was a hard working man, very loving,” said Nancy  Arteaga. “Family was everything to him, especially with my son and his other grandson. He was always there for them. That was his everything. He could go through whatever rough day he had, but as soon as he saw his grandkids he was the happiest man.”

Sheriff’s Department officials released footage that shows the vehicle hitting Sanchez as he crossed the intersection of Newhall Avenue near Sierra Highway.

“We’re pretty confident it’s a Ford Explorer or Ford Expedition, but we haven’t gotten any leads from it,” said Shoemaker.

Security cameras from a nearby gas station captured footage of the collision in the upper left corner of the video.

Arteaga has created a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral expenses for Sanchez, which can be found here.

“He was a great father, Arteaga said. “He treated me as a daughter. He was the kind of man that even though he didn’t have a lot, he wouldn’t mind giving to others.”

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