VALLEJO (KRON) — A family is searching for answers after a loving father was killed in a hit and run accident in Vallejo last weekend.
As Father’s Day approaches, they are asking whoever is responsible to turn himself or herself in.
The last memory Dailey Sparks’ family has of him is he smiling at his son’s high school graduation, three days before his body was found in an embankment.
“That’s the part that kills me,” daughter Ariana Lopez said. “Just knowing whether he was suffering or…and the fact that he was in the water for a day, like if they would have just stopped and called the police, it would have made all the difference in the world.”
The 51-year-old left to go riding, one of his favorite hobbies, with a friend on Jun. 3. Dailey’s family didn’t hear from him on Sunday but thought he was at his parent’s house.
By the time his job called on Monday, everyone knew something was wrong.
“He would never miss work,” wife Chantelle Sparks said. “He really loved his job, and even if he was sick, he wouldn’t have missed work.”
Within an hour, they got the call no one wants to hear.
“The only way his body was discovered was because Caltrans was like mowing the lawn,” Lopez said.
Dailey’s motorcycle was in the water, a few feet away from his body. The skid marks lead his family to believe a vehicle hit him on northbound Highway 37 in Vallejo–then kept going.
“The saddle bag exploded too,” Sparks said. “There’s no way that saddle bag would’ve exploded if it just threw him off and went in the water. There’s no way.”
The loving father leaves behind 10 children and 11 grandchildren. As they face their first Father’s Day without him, they’ve created a GoFundMe page to hire a private investigator, so they can find some closure.
“It’s really hard,” Sparks said. “I really don’t feel like it’s real. Like, it’s just a bad dream and then he’s gonna just walk through the door. My son is having a hard time. He’s really depressed. I’m depressed.”
“We just want justice,” Lopez said. “My dad was such an amazing man. I’ve never met anybody like my dad before. He was just so giving, so kind, he was like always happy. “
The family plans on holding a memorial in two weeks before Dailey’s body is cremated.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:
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