MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — Staff members who helped care for a 24-year-old Milwaukee woman are mourning her death and calling for justice after she was killed in a Labor Day hit-and-run in the Rufus King neighborhood.

Nora Winkels was on Teutonia Avenue near West Ruby Avenue Monday night when she was struck by a vehicle. Police said the driver did not stop.

Family of Nora Winkels

Winkels' friend, Curtis Brooks, tried to help her after the initial crash but was injured when a second vehicle struck both of them.

On Wednesday, Winkels' loved ones gathered at the intersection where she died to remember her life and express frustration over the circumstances surrounding her death.

"She was full of life. She loves music. She loves dances. She loved poetry," said Desirea Carrington-Mallett, whom Winkels called her "aunt."

Carrington-Mallett's aunt owns Dedicated Hearts Homes, a Milwaukee group home provider that had cared for Winkels since she was 17.

"She meant something to every one of us — more than anything, my aunt. That was her baby. She took her in," Carrington-Mallett said.

Winkels became part of the family's life as staff members helped support her through mental health challenges and cognitive disabilities.

"We just rallied around her to try to get her the help that she needed," said Tarrius Chesser, one of the home's managers, whom Winkels called her "brother."

After being away for a couple of days, Winkels called Chesser Monday night to tell him she was on her way back. She never made it home.

"She was somebody that was working extremely hard to get where she wanted to go," Carrington-Mallett said. "She was almost there, and that was taken from her."

Brooks, Winkels' best friend, remains hospitalized as he recovers from his injuries.

"It's going to be a lot of healing for him, because they also took someone special to him," Carrington-Mallett said.

Those close to Winkels said their grief is compounded by frustration. They had been trying for months to obtain legal guardianship over her because of concerns about her safety.

"We received that nightmare of what we were scared was going to happen to her," Carrington-Mallett said.

They are now urging the driver who initially struck Winkels and fled the scene to come forward.

"Just come forward so we can grieve properly," Chesser said.

The group is also raising concerns about reckless driving and the history of serious crashes along that stretch of Teutonia Avenue.

"It's careless. It's careless," Carrington-Mallett said.

"She was on her way home, and that's what happened. The streets won again," Chesser said.

CBS 58

Since 2012, more than a dozen serious crashes have occurred on Teutonia Avenue between Cornell and Ruby avenues. More than half involved pedestrians, and three pedestrians have been killed there in less than five years.

The Milwaukee Common Council approved funding this summer for raised crosswalks in the area. Part of the corridor is already designated as a school zone because of its proximity to Lloyd Barbee Montessori School.