A tragic incident in Northern California has left a family in mourning, as a teenage girl was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver while on her way home. Seventeen-year-old Jeana Flores was making her way back after doing laundry at a relative’s house when she became the victim of this senseless act, according to her family and law enforcement officials.

Jeana’s last text message sent to her stepmother poignantly read, “Tonight I finally saw the Little Dipper,” highlighting the innocence and normalcy of her evening before tragedy struck. She was discovered around 3:30 a.m. on Friday, lying by the roadside near the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in Antioch. This location is along L Street, between West 18th and West 10th streets, as detailed in a police press release that described the occurrence as a hit-and-run.

First responders arrived swiftly and attempted to provide medical assistance, but their efforts were in vain. Initial evidence and information led authorities to consider Jeana’s death suspicious. Speaking to local news outlets KTVU and KGO, Jeana’s family recounted how she had been walking home late that night after a disagreement with her boyfriend.

A fight had occurred between Jeana and her boyfriend, her uncle says.

“She was heading back home from doing laundry,” uncle Elias Flores told KGO. “She got into an argument with her boyfriend. She ended up walking back home.”

Police told the family that Jeana was struck by a driver sometime after 9:30 p.m., which is when she sent her final text message to her stepmother, Jenna Lee.

“Tonight, I finally saw the Little Dipper,” Jeana told Lee, per KTVU.

An autopsy conducted by the Contra Costa County Coroner’s Office determined that Jeana died from injuries sustained from a high-impact vehicle collision.

“Her spine was broken,” said Joseph Flores, Jeana’s father, in an interview with KTVU. “You have to hit someone hella hard for her spine to be broken … and then left her like that.”

The grieving dad added, “How do you register that? You can’t. I’m still in denial.”

Jeana’s family says she was just three blocks from home when she was struck, according to KTVU. The teen was in the process of enrolling in Job Corps at Treasure Island, where she was interested in training as a chef.

“There needs to be justice for her,” Jeana’s dad said. “She was only 17. She just started life.”

Elias Flores told KGO, “She was trying to become a chef. That was her dream. That was her goal.” He noted on Facebook how Jeana “called a few weeks back asking advice on how to get closer to God,” according to a post.

“She asked if I would call her and keep her accountable about praying and reading the Bible,” Elias Flores said in the post.

Police were still investigating Wednesday and searching for the driver who was responsible.

“For you to take her life away and have no guilt … turn yourself in,” Lee told KTVU. “I don’t get it.”