Moment beloved mail carrier mom is taken off life support after being fatally-injured by hit-and-run driver who slammed into her as she biked home from partner's house

A 'loving' California mother was joined by her two children before being taken off life support on Friday.

Tracey Gross, 51, had been hit by a suspected hit-and-run driver on State Route 76 in Oceanside when she was biking home from her boyfriend's house around 11:30 pm on St. Patrick's Day.

After the accident, she managed to stay alive for nearly a week with the aid of life support.

A photo taken at the hospital captured the heartbreaking scene, showing Gross' daughter holding her mother's limp hand. 

On Friday night, before Gross was taken off life support, family members and the staff at the Scripps Green Hospital, where she had been admitted, took an honor walk- a tradition meant to pay tribute to donors on life support whose organs will be harvested.

'I think she held out long enough for everyone to see her and see her off,' Gross' daughter, Angela Smith, told NBC San Diego. 

A heartbreaking photo captured the moment Tracey's family gathered around to say goodbye

Gross, 51, had been biking home from her boyfriend's place on Sunday night when she was struck by a vehicle

Gross was found on the roadside, unconscious and suffering from grievous injuries

'She was my best friend. I didn't have a sister, but we got along so well. She would call me every night. I lost my best friend, my mom,' Gross' daughter said.

The daughter was at home in Florida when she heard the news that made her start 'hyperventilating.'

'I couldn’t believe it because I had just talked to her the night before,' Smith said.

Tracy Gross' son, Alec Perez, who lived with his mother and was summoned to the scene of the accident to identify her, was also at the hospital.

Perez said that his mom was 'a good loving mother to everyone, not just me, not just my sister, everyone.'

Gross' son was frustrated that someone could do such an appalling thing to his mom.

Gross' daughter, Angela Smith, said that her mother called her every night and that her mother was her 'best friend'

Gross' son, Alec Perez, said that his mother was a 'good loving mother to everyone'

Gross' organs will be donated to people who are in desperate need of them

'I feel lost and angry. I am so mad,' Perez said. 'Who could do something like this?'

Investigators suspect that Gross was hit by a silver Kia Optima, a model made somewhere between 2013 and 2015.

When Gross was found in the roadway, unconscious and plagued with severe injuries, investigators couldn't find her bike, just debris from the car that slammed into her.

When the bike was ultimately recovered, it was found two miles away, near College Boulevard, which is how far some of the family members think the driver dragged it.

Perez believed that the driver must have realized that they struck someone.

'There's no way they just hit her and didn't see it or didn't hear it. They know they did wrong,' he said. 

The Oceanside authorities are searching for the alleged hit-and-run driver, who remains at large. They believe that the Kia vehicle should have a damaged right front bumper and headlight- where it crashed into Tracy Gross.

Investigators believe that the driver likely lives in the area where the accident took place.

Although the family wants the suspected driver brought to justice, they are more focused on preserving their beloved mother's memory.

Gross' son lived with his mother and had to identify her when her unconscious body was found on the roadside

Gross' daughter had spoken to her mother only the night before and started 'hyperventilating' when she heard the news

The family and the hospital staff took an honor walk on Friday- a tradition that celebrates an organ donor who is about to be removed from life support

Tracey Gross was a mail carrier and kept her body in excellent shape, eating healthily and biking everywhere

'I don't want to know anything about them,' the daughter said. 'Even if the law doesn't catch them, karma will.'

Despite the sorrowful moment, Gross' family still managed to feel a sense of pride in their mother.

Tracy Gross was very disciplined about her health. She ate healthy foods and biked all over the place, including to the post office where she worked as a mail carrier.

Now others stand to benefit from Gross' generosity and her good health.

'A lot of people are going to benefit from this, all the organs.' Gross' daughter said. 'She took really good care of herself.'