Livingston hit-and-run victim’s family asks for driver to come forward

The family of Raymond Martinez, the 16-year-old who was hit by a car while riding his bike outside Livingston, is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of the driver who killed their son.

Raymond was on a bike ride on Easter Sunday with his older brother Jorge, 19, on Walnut Avenue just west of Sultana Drive when he was struck from behind by a vehicle that sped away. He died a short time later.

The Martinez family is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

“Come forward and do the right thing,” Hilario Martinez, Raymond’s father, said in an interview Wednesday with the Sun-Star.

The California Highway Patrol has asked for the community’s help in locating the suspect vehicle and identifying its driver while officers investigate the case.

The Martinez family is hoping an arrest will help bring closure.

Having no answers from that day “makes it harder,” said Brittiany, Raymond’s older sister.

Jorge “Omar” Martinez said Raymond was riding behind him before the crash. Jorge looked back to check on his younger brother and saw Raymond on the road.

“I saw him riding on the road, and then I saw headlights,” Jorge said. “I yelled for him to get off the road, but the car was already close. He didn’t have enough time to react.”

Photos of Jorge and Raymond growing up hang on the walls of the Martinez home, an indication of how close the boys were. The family said the brothers, the younger of four siblings, were best friends.

“It’s hard to forget that kind of thing,” Jorge said. “But it doesn’t do any good to keep thinking about it.”

Raymond had a big personality and went out of his way to be a friend to those who maybe didn’t have one, no matter their age.

“He was a big goofball,” Brittiany said. “He’d do anything to make you laugh, and he wasn’t afraid of how it would make himself look. He lit up the room.”

And he liked to give hugs. “There was no shaking hands or saying hi; it was always a hug,” said Ashley, the oldest Martinez sibling.

Raymond was very close with his football teammates, who have visited the Martinez house frequently. Martinez family members have known many of Raymond’s friends since they were small children.

Raymond wore the No. 59 jersey on the junior varsity football team at Livingston High, where he was a sophomore. Brittiany said he hoped to one day earn athletic and academic scholarships to attend Fresno State. He wanted to be an FBI agent.

His teammates have told the Martinez family that the school plans to retire his jersey, which rests on a table in the Martinezes’ living room next to a prayer candle.

Alex Gonzalez, Livingston’s football coach, said when the players asked to retire Raymond’s jersey, he said yes right away. Raymond would have played on the varsity in the upcoming season, and the jersey he would have worn also will be put away for the season, Gonzalez said. Plans still are being made, but Gonzalez said a ceremony may be held during the team’s first home game against Delhi in the upcoming season.

Raymond’s family wakes each morning and feels the void he left behind.

“It’s been a nightmare that we haven’t been able to wake up from,” Hilario said.

Dora, his mother, still can’t believe it happened.

The community of Livingston has rallied around the Martinez family, offering their condolences, starting a GoFundMe account and washing cars to raise money. For that, Hilario said, the family is deeply grateful.

The reward offered comes from a combination of the family’s own contributions as well as part of what the community has donated.

Officer Moises Onsurez, a CHP spokesman, asked people with information about the collision to put themselves in the family’s shoes. “Understand that this was a son, this was a brother who tragically lost his life.”

And to the driver, he said: “You still have the ability to come back and make things right.”

“People usually panic in situations like this,” Onsurez said. “They may not have thought and did the right thing at that moment.”

The driver will face felony hit-and-run charges, the CHP said. Other charges may be added pending the outcome of the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the California Highway Patrol at 209-356-2969.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Livingston hit-and-run victim’s family asks for driver to come forward."