Aunt Arrested on Child Endangerment Charges After Toddler Killed in San Francisco Crosswalk

A woman who was caring for her 2-year-old twin niece and nephew has been charged with felony child endangerment after the little girl was killed by a hit-and-run driver in a San Francisco crosswalk. Police say the aunt crossed against the signal, leaving the girl unattended in the middle of the street.

San Francisco police on Tuesday arrested 25-year-old Lorysha Gage after her niece, identified by family as Mi'Yana Gregory, was killed on Mission Street between 4th and 5th streets about 10:30 p.m. Friday. The three had just seen "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" at the AMC Metreon, family members said. In addition to the child endangerment charge, jail records show Gage was also booked on a felony enhancement of corporal injury on a child resulting in death. She is in custody on $250,000 bail.

Gage will make her first court appearance on Thursday, a district attorney's spokesperson said Wednesday.  She is scheduled to be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the San Francisco Hall of Justice, according to San Francisco DA's office spokesperson Alex Bastian.

Officer Albie Esparza said that Gage left her niece in the middle of the crosswalk while she went back to get the brother, Michael. That's when "My My," described by relative De'Anthony Daymone Jones as a "bubbly" girl, was killed in the crosswalk.

Attempts to reach Gage and find out if she had an attorney were not immediately successful Wednesday morning. Police did not provide a booking photo of Gage, citing "pending ID matters."

"It's been hard on all of us," said Jones, who has set up a site to help pay for funeral expenses. Mi'Yana and her twin were very close. "They always rolled together," he said.

[[168621951,C]]

While police have now arrested the aunt, officers have not yet found the driver, whose car hit the girl and kept going. Surveillance video showed a white, mid-90s, four-door sedan, believed to be either a Camry, Honda or Lexus, with a dark mismatched front bumper and dark rims in the area at the time. The driver did not stop, and police are looking for that person.

A day after the accident, relative Devin Reagans said the driver should have stopped.

"It shouldn't have taken my sister's life," she said.

On Wednesday, a memorial marked the site across from the parking garage at Westfield San Francisco Centre where "My My" was killed, complete with signs and stuffed animals including a pink teddy bear and a Hello Kitty doll.

Her family has also set up a GoFundMe site to help pay for expenses.

NBC Bay Area's Stephanie Chuang and Christie Smith and Bay City News contributed to this report.
 

Contact Us