Loved ones came together Saturday to mourn an 85-year-old Army veteran who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Santa Monica.
A memorial was held at the Lighthouse Church, just blocks away from where a driver struck Judy Mershon.
“Judy did not carry a grudge. If a person wronged her and then asked her for forgiveness, she would forgive them,” friend Glenn McDonald said. “I am certain that if the driver of the car that struck her could ask her for forgiveness, she would grant it.”
The crash happened around 6:40 p.m. Dec. 22 at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Chelsea Avenue, according to Santa Monica police.
“The speed that guy was going, it took her from one side of Chelsea to the other, hurled her off the car and into a curb and killed her,” McDonald said.
On Dec. 27, police arrested 30-year-old Rod Sharif. Investigators used surveillance video to track down the suspect and collected several items of evidence when they searched his home, including a white Toyota Rav4 that had significant front-end damage, police said.