As they planned her funeral on Thursday morning, friends and family members of Lake in the Hills resident Viola Flores said they were still coming to terms with the woman’s sudden death after she was killed on Sunday while crossing the street while vacationing in Florida.
Flores grew up in Aurora and lived in Naperville before moving to Lake in the Hills.
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Flores, 51, and her boyfriend of three years, John Berg, 62, of Lake in the Hills, were crossing the Clearwater Memorial Causeway in Clearwater, Florida, on foot when police say the driver of a Mercedes SUV hit them and kept driving.
Both Flores and Berg were taken to an area hospital where they were pronounced dead, Florida police said.
The vehicle believed to have been used in the crash was later located and seized, according to Associated Press reports. No charges have been filed.
“Viola was so excited to go on this vacation,” said longtime friend Gabriela Williams.
Williams grew up with Flores in Aurora, where they attended middle school and East Aurora High School together. They’ve been friends ever since.
“I’ve never seen her as happy as she’s been lately,” she said.
Williams described Flores as a wonderful mother to her adult children, Robert Flores III and Adriana Munoz-Flores. Her 20-month-old granddaughter was also the light of Flores’ life, Williams said.
“She was their everything and they were her everything,” Williams said.
The accident has left many, including Flores’ son, reeling in pain, she said.
Robert Flores said he has been overwhelmed with media interviews since the crash and wasn’t up for speaking, but pointed reporters to his mother’s Facebook page to better understand what kind of woman she was.
Friends recalled growing up with Flores, playing jacks on the front porch, and then watching her become a doting mother and grandmother. Dozens of people chimed in on Flores’ page to offer the family condolences.
“(Viola’s) laughter was unforgettable,” Williams said. “She had such a great spirit.”
Flores’ son said the family lived in Aurora until 1994 when they moved to Naperville. Flores stayed there until moving to Lake in the Hills several years ago, where she was living at the time of her death.
On Flores’ Facebook page, she posted updates of her trip, all the way up until hours before she and her boyfriend was struck and killed.
Her last check-in was at a tap house in Clearwater. In the same post, Flores posted a picture of herself at a trolley stop heading back to her hotel to get ready for a night out with Berg.
Following the hit and run crash, police released several photos and videos of the vehicle, including video surveillance from nearby businesses. They also received tips from people all over the Tampa Bay area.
On Wednesday, police announced that they had seized a vehicle matching the suspect car description from the home of a Tampa man.
“It’s just heartless to think someone could leave them there,” Williams said, adding that she hopes charges against the suspect are quickly filed.
Visitation and memorial for Flores will be held on Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. at Beidelman-Kunsch Funeral Home, 516 S. Washington St. in Naperville.
A Celebration Mass in honor of Viola Flores will be held on Monday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 1500 Brookdale Road, Naperville.
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