Last Updated on January 9, 2023 by CCAR Staff
UPLAND >> In 1984, a fresh-faced and smiling Kristen Diane Pretzer was crowned Upland High School’s homecoming queen.
The blonde with the sparkling eyes looked like she stepped out of a John Hughes film with an ’80’s look that could have rivaled that of Molly Ringwald.
“She was fun and had so many friends,” said her older brother, Johnnie Young, on Friday.
But Pretzer’s life took a turn and early Wednesday, the former homecoming queen was found lying on the sidewalk, the victim of what Upland police believe was a hit-and-run driver.
• Photos: Police Search for Suspected Hit-and-Run Driver
Police officers were called to the 200 block of South Mountain Avenue just after 2 a.m. Wednesday for a woman lying on the sidewalk, according to Lt. Cliff Mathews.
Officers noticed debris spread out on the ground near Pretzer that appeared to be consistent with a crash, officials said.
Authorities said they hadn’t received any calls regarding a traffic collision.
Friends and family say Pretzer had been living at a homeless encampment near Mountain Avenue in the final years of her life’
“But she was more than that,” said Young of his sister. “She was a daughter and a mother. She wasn’t just a nobody. We were only a few years apart. We used to always play together and watched ‘The Brady Bunch.’ There are so many good memories with her.”
When news of Pretzer’s death spread, several of her friends took to Facebook to share memories and photos of the jubilant woman and to plan a vigil not only in the memory of the 47-year-old woman, but also to remember another woman struck and killed in the same area only a few days before Pretzer’s death.
Pretzer’s friends and family will gather at 7 p.m. Friday in the Home Depot parking lot at 250 S. Mountain Ave.
“We just want to honor her,” Young said.
Pretzer’s death is under investigation. Anyone with information about the incident can contact the Upland Police Department at 909-946-7624.
