After returning home from a doctor’s appointment on the afternoon of Sept. 12, Bertha Mora, 76, told her husband of 55 years that she was going to walk to a nearby grocery store to buy fruit for the nephews they planned to babysit that night.
Minutes later, as she crossed Long Beach Boulevard at 68th Street, she was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver, according to police. Authorities say the suspect, driving a 2018 Chevrolet Camaro, returned to the scene about 40 minutes later and is currently facing criminal charges, but Mora’s family is now facing the prospect of life without a family matriarch, who they say was a stabilizing presence for those around her.
Mora worked as a grocery clerk at Superior for more than two decades, her son Loui Mora said. She retired six years ago with some coaxing from the family to “become a full-time grandma” to her four grandchildren, ranging in age from 7 to 2, Loui said…