the girl's father calling the driver a coward. >> reporter: 7-year-old sheyla pichardo and her mother made this same walk so many times before. they were holding hands as they strolled to school this morning. a beautiful day that ended in an absolute nightmare. sheyla's father says he lost his angel, his only child, his world. police released this black chevy tahoe, either a 2015 or '16, that hit the first grader and her mother while they were in the crosswalk at 62nd and van buren in west new york. the driver sped off. >> he could run but he cannot hide. we have the resources, the personnel, the technology. we will find him. >> we know somebody out there probably knows this vehicle and knows the person involved. there may be some underlying reason. we want to talk to this person and find out how this accident happened so we can give the family some closure. >> reporter: sheyla was pronounced dead after suffering severe head trauma. her mother was taken to the hospital for minor injuries. a memorial with flowers and candles now sits at the scene of this deadly accident. family friends

sheyla pichardo was hit and killed early this morning. her mother seriously injured. >> witnesses say the driver in west new york knew he hit her but still drove away. mish mig joins us live with a new video of the vehicle cops are looking for tonight. >> the father is in shock and he is in just so much grief. he cannot believe this. he calls his little girl his angel. she herself was hit by the same suv. the pictures police have given to us of this tahoe that the police are looking for, this is a 2014 or 2015 tahoe with chrome wheels and running boards. witnesses say it has temporary plates and that the passenger jumped out, saw the horrible scene behind them, got right back in and the driver just took off. the mayor promises the family to get those responsible and put them in jail. >> reporter: tearing up and overwhelmed with grief, javier pichardo says his only child, sheyla, was his angel. his wife was doing what she always does, walking her to school when someone driving a black tahoe hit them both, mother and child. the mother's leg