Sister remembers beloved Clovis woman who died in crash. ‘She was everybody’s smile’
Hannah Pimentel loved nearly everyone she came across.
Whether it is a family member or a stranger, she was there if someone needed to talk.
That is how the 19-year-old from Clovis was described by her older sister, Amy Daneen — a day after she tragically died in a crash in downtown Fresno on Wednesday.
The crash happened around 3 p.m. near Stanislaus and N streets, where Fresno Police said the suspect, identified as 31-year-old gang member Marc Cain Rodriguez, drove a black Ford Fusion at a high-rate of speed and fatally struck Pimentel, who was driving a black BMW.
The suspect remained at large Friday morning. He was driving the wrong way down a one-way street, then took off running.
“He’s caused this family more loss that we thought we could ever go through,” Daneen told The Bee Thursday evening. “I know that my family and myself are so angry because he has no remorse to care about this beautiful soul.
“If she was standing in front of him today she wouldn’t want revenge. She would want to sit down and talk with him and figure out why he is the person that he is today. She would probably find something cool about him. She wouldn’t judge him. I don’t believe she would hate him. She would forgive him. She wouldn’t want her family to hurt like this.”
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Pimentel was a Fresno City College student, majoring in business.
In a GoFundMe account set up to help the family, Daneen wrote that her sister was a fearless pioneer who “had hope for humanity.”
“My sister was a light when she entered the room,” she said. “She was everybody’s smile. She was warm. She loved to hug everyone. She didn’t care who you were or your background or what you had done, beliefs or religion. Everyone was beautiful to her in one way or another.
“She just wanted people to treat each other well. She was an advocate for equality in human tights and Black Lives Matter. She cared so much about everyone. She loved to travel. Her and her boyfriend would be gone on road trips just so she can see as many beautiful things as possible.”
Love for painting, music and her car
Pimentel enjoyed painting and crafts and often showcased her skill at making something out of nothing.
“She loved art,” Daneen said. “She was an incredible painter and drawer. She likes creating crafts.
“The coolest things nobody would ever think of were made out of the craziest stuff like nails or push pins.”
Daneen said her sister’s other passions included music, going to concerts, traveling and her favorite purchase: her black BMW.
“She loved her car,” Daneen said. “She loved her Beamer so much. She just got that car, and it was like everything that she was dreaming of. That was her car. She just loved it.”
Last conversation
Daneen said she planned to see her sister Wednesday evening to do her hair. They talked a few times in the morning and last talked around noon.
She told her sister that she would let her know when she was home.
Then the text.
“Around 2:30 or 3 o’clock, I texted her to let her know I was home so that she could come over whenever she was able to,” Daneen said.
“I never heard from her again.”
Daneen was putting her son to sleep when she received a phone call from her mom to say her sister had died.
“I keep asking why,” she said. “Why would God take somebody that does the things that he would want people to do on this Earth? That is to love and accept and to never judge. That is who she was. She could’ve had so many years to influence people to share her voice and love, even if it is in the littlest ways.”
Daneen doesn’t know why her sister was in downtown Fresno, but mentioned she was a DoorDash worker. “She could’ve been dashing something,” Daneen said.
Close-knit family
Pimentel’s family meant a lot to her.
She didn’t have to go far to visit her sister because they lived in the same apartment complex in Clovis.
There was never a day that went by when Pimentel never checked on her mom, brother, sister and her grandparents because she cared about them.
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“We are all close,” Daneen said. “She would talk to my mom every single day and see my grandparents as much as she possibly could, but if she didn’t see them, she would talk to them almost everyday. It is just weird that I can’t walk a few doors from me and knock on her door anymore.”
A promise being made
Daneen promises a big party for her sister.
It was a conversation they had before when they mentioned there will not be any sadness if someone died.
“We don’t want everyone to be sad,” Daneen said. “We want a huge big party with beautiful colors and bright flowers and music. Just everyone going crazy and having fun because that is like our personalities. We’re just free spirits.
“She wouldn’t want anyone mourning. She would want a big party. I’m going to give her that big party like she always talked about. We have a GoFundMe and whatever is left over from that, we’re going to donate to Human Rights in some way or another because that is what she would want.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2021 at 9:25 AM.
