Boy dies after hit-and-run crash in San Francisco Bay Area

RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) — Police are searching for a hit-and-run driver who killed a 4-year-old boy on his street in the San Francisco Bay Area, authorities said.

The child, identified only as Heitor, was struck by an SUV Friday evening as he stood with his father in front of their home in Richmond, KNTV-TV reported. He was flown in critical condition to a hospital, where he died.

Heitor's mother, Jaiane Carreiro, told reporters she heard the crash from inside the house and ran out to find her son bleeding in the street.

She said the driver, who sped away, was heartless, “like a monster.”

Carreiro said she and her husband, Mauro, are in shock that their child is gone.

Richmond police on Saturday called on the public to help them find the SUV, described as a 1999-2003 metallic blue Ford Explorer. The vehicle has aftermarket chrome-type rims and possibly a white rectangular sticker on the bottom right corner of the back window, police said. The SUV sustained minor front end damage.