By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / Febuary 11, 1999

RESERVE – Broken in body but not in spirit, a 36-year-old Garyville woman is clinging to life, the victim of a hit-and-run driver.

Sabrina Parrilla, 36, of 220 Little Hope St., was walking on River Road at2:15 a.m. Sunday when she was struck by a westbound pickup truck,according to Louisiana State Police.

She was listed as of press time in critical condition at River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace.

Her brother, the Rev. Donald Brown of Providence Baptist Church No. 2 inMontz, on Monday recalled sitting with her at the hospital.

They held her hand and spoke with the apparently-unconscious accident victim and asked her, if she could hear them, to squeeze their hands. Shedid so.

Later, he said, as they sang softly to her, her hand rose as if she was trying to join them in song, still without opening her eyes.

“We just have to believe in God to help bring her out of it,” Brown said.

Louisiana State Police had no information on the make and model of the vehicle, nor of the driver, in their initial report.

However, as Lt. Michael Tregre of the St. John Sheriff’s Office reported,deputies were seeking a burgundy or maroon two-door Ford F-150 pickup truck with a broken headlight and a mounted tool box. Remnants of theheadlight were found at the accident scene.

Parrilla and a female friend were walking from the PERO Building at DuPont and approached East 21st Street when the accident occurred. Awitness told police Parrilla was knocked into the air and slammed down to the ground.

Brown said his sister sustained a fractured skull, broken hip and pelvis and massive internal bleeding.

An initial search for the truck in the Reserve/Garyville area was unsuccessful.

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