Heartbroken community remembers East Bay woman killed in hit-and-run while on bicycle

East Bay community mourns woman killed in hit-and-run while on bicycle

Friends, family, and neighbors gathered at a vigil to honor 41-year-old Timarie Orso at the Pleasant Hill crash site Friday. 

PLEASANT HILL, Calif. - Friends and family members are heartbroken as they gathered to remember 41-year-old Timarie Orso. They lit candles, left flowers, and leaned on one another while sharing memories at the Pleasant Hill crash site Friday evening.

Pleasant Hill Police said officers were called just before 2 a.m. Sunday to the intersection of Contra Costa and Taylor boulevards on reports of a crash and found the bicyclist injured at the scene. She later died there.

"I'm devastated, angry that she was taken from us this way. She was a loving person, so for her to end her life in such a tragic way. It's unimaginable for all of us," said Erin Clark, her best friend since sixth grade. 

Memories of Timarie Orso

Clark said Orso loved playing softball in the local community and was devoted to her sisters and family.

"Always goofy, always messing around. If you were in a bad mood, she could lift your spirits. She'd sing, she'd dance," Clark said.

Pleasant Hill police say investigators later located the car involved parked and unoccupied in Concord. Police say the registered owner and suspected driver, 45-year-old Angelina Solis of Concord, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit-and-run and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Records show the suspect has since bonded out of jail.

"I hope people understand that taking that drink and getting in the car is just not worth it. This person's life is going to be changed forever too, and it was so unnecessary," said the victim's stepmother, Ann Rekoske Orso.

A special bond

Rekoske Orso says she helped raise Orso after meeting her father.

"I met her when she was 3, when I started seeing Mike and she needed some mothering, and I always thought I'd never have a child, and we just bonded like frick and frack," she added.

Paul, who declined to give his last name and spoke at the vigil, says he saw Orso just hours before the crash and spent time with her regularly. He says he was homeless. 

"She was a friend. Every day, I'm homeless out here, and I go back and forth up and down Contra Costa Boulevard. She'd either be down there by In-N-Out or up there by Goodwill or everywhere in between," he said. 

"I could relate with her. She was a good person, and I knew that I could trust her," he said.

Orso's 42nd birthday would have been April 11, and friends and family are planning a special day of celebration in her honor.