FREMONT — The Alameda County Coroner’s bureau on Friday identified a 20-year-old woman struck and killed by a car in January after an armed assailant allegedly left her and her friend stranded on an Interstate 880 center divider at night.
Diamond Ki’ilani Kamehaiku-Sysco, of Fremont, was fatally struck around 10 p.m. Jan. 12 as she stood in the lefthand shoulder of southbound I-880 near the Dixon Landing Road exit. Kamehaiku-Sysco and a friend, a man police haven’t named, were accosted by another motorist who forced them out of their vehicle at gunpoint and left them there unable to move their van out of the fast lane, authorities say.
According to police, the conflict was all over a plastic “Children At Play” sign that typically sells for around $30 at retail outlets.
About 20 minutes before the crash, Kamehaiku-Sysco and her friend were driving through a Fremont neighborhood when they noticed the sign in the middle of the street, and allegedly swiped it. They continued onto I-880 and had began driving on the freeway when another vehicle swerved in front of them and hit the brakes, authorities say.
The driver of the other car got out, allegedly holding a pistol, and ordered them out of their van. He retrieved the sign, got back into this car and took the keys to the van from Kamehaiku-Sysco’s friend before driving off in his vehicle, authorities say.
After he left, Kamehaiku-Sysco and her friend were left near the center divider, with no way to move the van parked in the fast lane. As they struggled to come up with a way to return to safety, an oncoming Toyota Prius swerved onto the shoulder to avoid the van and struck Kamehaiku-Sysco, according to authorities.
Police have not announced any arrests and thus far no charges have been filed.
Kamehaiku-Sysco’s online obituary describes her as a passionate “born leader” who saw the good in others, was employed at an Amazon Fulfillment Center in Newark and worked with kids at her local church.
“Diamond lived an extraordinary life by her spirit and drive to be kind to all whom she met,” the obituary reads, later adding, “Diamond gave her all. She never left a task undone; she’d try her hardest.”
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