Tina “Sissy” Wiggs says she was struck by a car in the early morning hours of October 24 near Olive Avenue and Oakhaven Street, an impact so violent she doesn't remember the moment of collision — only waking up afterward in the intensive care unit. “It just ran me over and I woke up in the hospital in ICU,” she said. Nearly three weeks later, she remains hospitalized with injuries that have upended her life, and the driver who hit her has not been identified by investigators.
Wiggs told BakersfieldNow that she suffered multiple broken ribs, a broken pelvis, a collapsed lung, and a face fracture in the crash. Her husband filed a report with the California Highway Patrol, and the agency is continuing to investigate the hit-and-run. Wiggs said she believes she knows who ran her over, though that claim has not been independently confirmed, and no suspect has been named publicly.
The physical toll has been severe enough that Wiggs says she cannot even hold her grandchildren right now. “I can't even hold my grandchildren,” she said, a detail that underscores how far-reaching her injuries have been beyond the hospital stay itself. She has said plainly that she wants justice for what happened to her.
CHP Response Still Pending
When asked for information about the case, CHP declined to provide details and said it would respond on Thursday, according to the same report. The agency's investigation into who was behind the wheel remains open, and no timeline for an arrest or identification has been made public.
That delay echoes a pattern seen in other recent Kern County hit-and-run cases. Pablo Ortiz's family said CHP did not contact any relative until four days after his death, and the agency has declined to confirm or deny the family's account of how he was struck. CHP Officer Toro told the outlet at the time that the case was being treated seriously, saying, “It's not like we're putting this case on the backburner. It's a very serious case.”
Friends Rally Around “Sissy”
While Wiggs recovers, friends have started raising money to help with her finances and to push for justice, including selling T-shirts reading “Justice for Sissy,” the nickname by which she's known. Kori Reed described Wiggs as strong and generous, noting that she organizes community donations of Easter baskets and holiday stockings for children. Samantha Riley said seeing Wiggs' injuries has been difficult to witness.
Bakersfield has seen a string of hit-and-run cases in recent months that have left families and friends searching for accountability. In April, CHP sought a driver and vehicle after a pedestrian was killed in Oildale; the Kern County Coroner's Office later identified the victim as 39-year-old Urbano Murillo Jr. of Shafter. Separately, a bicyclist suffered major injuries in a crash involving a white vehicle in the 5800 block of Olive Drive near Oakhaven Street, an incident that shut down lanes and backed up traffic, as Hoodline reported.
A Citywide Pattern
That same Hoodline report noted that Bakersfield recorded 70 bicycle-involved crashes in 2023 alone, causing 71 injuries and two deaths, with the city's recorded high coming in 2016 at 88 crashes resulting in 85 injuries and three deaths. Since 2010, the city has tallied more than 700 bicycle crashes and injuries, along with 24 deaths, according to that reporting.
For now, Wiggs is focused on recovery and on getting answers. Her case joins a growing list of unresolved Bakersfield hit-and-run investigations where victims and their families say they're left waiting — for a phone call, for a name, for some sign that the search for the person responsible hasn't stalled.
