The family of a Kissimmee woman killed when crossing Fortune Road in June is still looking for any clues into the driver who hit her and her daughter.
Vivene Roper Grant, 77, of Kissimmee was struck by a westbound hitand-run driver on Fortune Road near Shadow Oaks Road at 9:30 p.m. on June 20, per a Florida Highway Patrol report. She was crossing with her daughter Nichole, Grant’s niece, Eleanor Lumsden, said.
Lumsden said Nichole survived the accident but is badly shaken and traumatized by the loss of her mother, but did relay that the vehicle that hit them, a royal blue, luxury airport shuttle-type van that was “high” off the road, sped away.
The mother and daughter, who Lumsden said may have been walking to a nearby self-storage facility, were transported to HCA Florida Osceola Hospital.
“The doctor said that every bone in (Grant’s) body was broken and there was nothing he could do,” Lumsden said, noting her aunt was taken off life support early on June 22, and she died soon after.
Roper Grant was a nurse in her native Jamaica, and emigrated to the United States in 1970, where she met her husband and, together, they pastored at churches in New York and New Jersey. She was described as a “gentle, caring and happy person,” when laid to rest July 9 in Deltona.
What made the initial aftermath more difficult, Lumsden said, were initial problems reaching Florida Highway Patrol’s crash portal website.
“Our family is requesting that the driver turn him or herself into the police,” Lumsden said. “Any witnesses to the accident are encouraged to come forward with information about this crime.”
CRIMELINE (1-800-423-TIPS) is accepting tips into the incident, and offers a reward if an arrest results. The family is also offering their own cash reward for information that leads to a felony arrest, Lumsden said. Those with information can email the family at egormagander@gmail.com.
