San Francisco Bartender Critically Injured by Hit-and-Run Driver

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) --A San Francisco bartender is fighting her life in the hospital after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver about three weeks ago as she rode her bike home.

Alexandra "Alex" Tamez had left work on her bicycle at the popular San Francisco restaurant Waterbar on Feb. 10 when she was struck. San Francisco police say it happened on Third Street near Fairfax Avenue in the Bayview at 12:35 a.m.

She was left with traumatic brain injuries. The driver took off.

"Shock, sadness, it's very traumatic," said Tamez's mother Lisa Quiroz. "I'm so worried, I'm still so worried."

Tamez was in the ICU at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and, just this week, came out of a medically-induced coma.

She suffered a fractured skull, jaw and ribs. Her mother says she faces a very long road to recovery.

"She has tons of friends, very outgoing. She enjoys hiking and just recently learned how to scuba dive. She's teaching herself Italian," Quiroz added.

Tamez's Waterbar family is devastated. She has been a bartender there for three years.

"She's the type of employee that shows up in a really good mood with a smile on her face and just really good energy and she's somebody that sort of lifts the spirits of everybody around her," said Waterbar managing partner Pete Sittnick.

Sittnick said he spoke with the witness who came to Tamez' aid.

"This guy is a great human being because he heard the sound and ran to see what had happened. He got a description of the car but then when he saw Alex he called 911 immediately and probably saved her life," Sittnick said.

San Francisco police released a stock photo of the hit-and-run driver's car. A black Nissan Altima sedan with a model year between 2013 and 2016. The car sustained damage to the front bumper on the passenger side.

"If anybody has any information, please, please call the police and let them know," Quiroz said. "We're talking about a human life here. This is my daughter and it could happen to anyone."

Waterbar said it will be creating a drink in honor of Tamez next week and the proceeds will go toward the GoFundMe account they created for her to help cover her medical expenses.