POLICE SEEK HELP TO LOCATE HIT-RUN KILLER CHURCHGOING VICTIM STRUCK WALKING HOME FROM SERVICE.

Byline: ALEX DOBUZINSKIS

Staff Writer

GLENDALE -- Wenceslao Devera went to church four times a week, picking up a tambourine as soon as he got there to join in praise.

Walking home Sunday from church, Devera, 53, was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver.

The incident at Colorado Street and Chevy Chase Drive in Glendale is the latest tragedy in a city that has more than its share of pedestrians hit by automobiles.

Devera had suffered a brain aneurism 10 years ago, but over time he was able to recover the ability to get around on his own, family and friends said.

His wife, Catalina, found out about the hit-run crash when police knocked on her door a couple hours after it happened.

"His wife -- she cried the whole night," said Marybeth Crisostomo, a friend who lives with the family. "She hasn't had any sleep since last night."

After his 1997 brain aneurism, Devera was unable to return to his job as an X-ray technician. But in recent months, the Filipino-American became a fixture at a Spanish-speaking church just around the corner from his house.

Although services at Iglesia Evangelica Monte Zion, which meets at First Lutheran Church, were conducted in a language he didn't speak, Devera made up for it by being friendly to everyone he encountered, said Oddy Rivera, the wife of the church's pastor. He was known for always shaking hands, being nice to children and playing the tambourine during services.

"He loved to play it all the time. He used to look for it. Every night as soon as he got in, he looked for the tambourine," Rivera said.

Witnesses gave police few details about the driver or car that struck Devera about 8:15 p.m. Sunday as he walked through or near a crosswalk, police said.

Still, Sgt. Dennis Smith of the Glendale Police Department's Traffic Division said witnesses did describe the vehicle as a light-color compact car, and it could be damaged in the front as a result of the incident. It appears two people were in the car, police said.

"We're trying to get some better witnesses to come forward; maybe someone can shed some light that we don't have right now," Smith said.

Devera's body was found 40 feet from where the incident occurred, police said. His shoes, coin purse and other personal items were left in the roadway. Police were able to find his family only after a passer-by recognized a baseball cap that Devera normally wore and pointed police to his home.

The last fatal hit-and-run victim in Glendale was Elizabeth Sandoval, 24, who was killed July 10. The suspect, Ara Grigoryan, escaped to Mexico, where he was arrested and brought back to Glendale to face charges in Sandoval's death.

More than 120 pedestrians were hit by vehicles in Glendale in each of the past three years, Smith said. In 2005, Glendale had the second-highest frequency of auto-on-pedestrian collisions among 50 cities of comparable size in California, he said.

To combat the trend, the Glendale Police Department is about to start a yearlong program aimed at reducing the frequency of those collisions. The department received a $135,000 grant from the state, which it will use to educate residents about traffic safety.

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Cecilia Devera holds a photo of her son, Wenceslao Devera, 53, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver over the weekend.

David Crane/Staff Photographer