CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- A grieving father is hoping to continue his daughter's mission for justice after she was killed in a car crash over the weekend.
For more than six months, Sarah Ingram grieved the loss of her high school sweetheart,Isaac Rodriguez. He was murdered outside his South Richmond trailer home in August.
Sarah was close by when the shots were fired.
"They had went to get Cookout, and she handed him that bag and reached in the car to grab something else. Shots were fired and she ran. Didn't realize he was hit until police came," Jason Ingram, Sarah's father, said.
Her father said she will be close to him once again when she is buried at a nearby cemetery plot.
"You talk about two tragedies. Since Isaac's passing, she's gotten into trouble, a DUI and dabbled with substance abuse. But was on her way to being clean again and I thought, 'oh, my baby has gotten arrested for drugs early in the morning.' Then the officer said no, my baby was dead," Jason said.
Since Isaac died in August, her father said she struggled and hadn't been the same.
"Sometimes, she'd open up. Sometimes she wouldn't talk at all but all she wanted from that day forward, if you read her social media, was justice for Isaac," Jason said.
The 19-year-old wasn't wearing a seat belt when the car she was riding in ran off Beulah Road and hit a tree. The driver, a 22-year-old friend, is now charged with DUI manslaughter.
Jason actually drove by the scene just moments after the crash and spoke with police, where he learned his daughter had been killed. He said he is certain she would be alive today if she would have been wearing a seat belt.
Rodriguez's father reached out to Jason after learning of Sarah's death, offering her a spot in Sunset Cemetery close to Isaac.
"I know he was up there waiting on her and I told him while we were at the cemetery, he better take good care of my girl until I can get there," Jason said.
Rodriguez's father has also volunteered to be a pallbearer at Sarah's funeral. Her viewing is on Sunday and her funeral will be held Monday.
