A Livermore woman died at a local hospital hours after being hit by a gravel truck while trying to ride across an intersection on her bicycle on Stanley Boulevard last week.

The victim was identified as 63-year-old Christine Boyle, a mother and retired phone company worker who loved the outdoors and her daily bike rides, according to family.

"Just a tragedy," Barbara Clibbens, Boyle's niece, told the Weekly on Monday.

"She was a good person, just a wonderful person," Clibbens said of her aunt. "She loved her son, Colin. Family was everything to her ... She loved to do photography. She loved to ride her bicycle. She loved being outdoors. She loved exploring. She was a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan."

Livermore police are still working to locate the truck driver, who left the scene, according to Sgt. Steve Goard.

Boyle's death on Dec. 21 marked the beginning of a difficult stretch for the Livermore community, the first of three fatal crashes in less than two days on the week of Christmas. Official details about her death only began to emerge this week.

Goard, in a statement released Monday, said the collision occurred just after 8 a.m. Dec. 21 along eastbound Stanley Boulevard within the Livermore city limits.

A gravel truck with trailer was making a right turn toward the Isabel Avenue/Highway 84 connector, when at the same time, Boyle was riding off the sidewalk to cross straight at the intersection within the crosswalk. A final determination about who was at fault is still pending as the investigation continues, Goard said.

Clibbens said a witness told the family that Boyle attempted to avoid a serious collision by pushing off the truck but she fell and was run over by the tires. Boyle was treated at the scene and transported to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where she died that afternoon.

"She held on; she tried to fight as long as she could," Clibbens said. "She fought with everything she had for (her son)."

The niece said the family was especially grateful for the support provided by bystander Jessica Benavidez, who stayed with Boyle at the scene until first responders arrived.

Livermore police are continuing to investigate the crash and locate potential witnesses to interview. Investigators are also still working to identify the trucker, who drove away from the scene without stopping, and "it is unclear if the driver was aware of the collision or not," Goard said.

Clibbens implored the truck driver to come forward. "If it was just a horrible accident and he didn't know, that's OK; we understand," she said. "But if he left for another reason ... we want to know."

Boyle, who was one of 11 children, grew up in Mount Washington in Pittsburgh, Penn. She moved to California in her early 20s and worked for years at Pacific Bell -- and its subsequent companies after mergers -- taking trouble calls from technicians in the field until retiring, according to Clibbens.

Boyle is survived by her adult son Colin, whom she loved deeply and cared for as he lived with autism, according to Clibbens.