Tri-City pedestrian still fighting for her life after being hit by stolen car

A 28-year-old woman remains in critical condition nearly a week after a hit-and-run driver left her for dead on Clearwater Avenue.

The woman, who has been identified as “Nyellie” by family on a GoFundMe campaign, was crossing the street about 9:30 p.m. on Feb. 6 when she was hit.

The 2002 Ford Focus had been stolen earlier in the day. The driver and three passengers in the car pulled over but then ran off before police arrived.

She was hit on the 5000 block of Clearwater near the AutoZone store, just east of Edison Street.

Nyellie was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. She suffered several broken bones, cuts to her liver and has fluid around her heart and swelling in her brain, according to GoFundMe organizer Xenia Perez.

Doctors are waiting for to get stronger before starting the surgeries she is going to need.

“Her daughter is worried about her and misses her,” Perez wrote. “We are staying positive and hopeful.”

Police are still trying to track down the four people who were inside when they abandoned the Focus on the side of the road, Kennewick Sgt. Matt Newton said.

The car was stolen in Kennewick before 7 a.m., he said.

Investigators are using DNA testing to try to identify those involved. The night of the crash police used a dog to try and track the suspects but came up empty.

“We are doing everything that we can to identify the driver and find them,” Newton said.

So far the GoFundMe at bit.ly/NyellieFundraiser had raised $1,400 by Monday.

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run can contact Kennewick police through the non-emergency dispatch number at 509-628-0333 and reference case 22-05124.

This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 12:44 PM.