The family of Kianna Johnson, the 10-year-old girl who was struck and killed in a hit-and-run in west Baltimore, remains profoundly shaken as they move past a death and funeral that seem too senseless to confront.

But through the tattered emotional upheavals and complications brought by the financial burden of an unexpected death, Kianna’s family wants one thing most of all — closure.

“My main focus right now at this point is to find out who did this,” said Sonja Chavis, the girl’s aunt. “And make sure they face their responsibilities.”

Chavis coordinated the arrangements — financial and otherwise — since an unidentified driver, in what police described as a green station wagon, struck and killed her niece June 21, and then sped off.

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Chavis had to take out a loan to pay for Kianna’s funeral Wednesday at Joseph Brown Funeral Home on North Fulton Avenue.

“My mom doesn’t have anything, my siblings don’t have anything,” she said. “Some people are giving what they can.”

But Chavis said her finances are not as important as finding the person responsible for her niece’s death.

“Then my family could have closure,” she said.

To facilitate that effort, Greg Cantori, executive director of the Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation, a Catholic charity in Baltimore, has committed an initial $500 grant toward a reward for information relating to Kianna’s death.

Cantori expressed frustration with what he perceived as the lack of a public response to the death and said he was issuing the grant out of a “sense of justice.”

“Does the American public look at a hit-and-run any different than a shooting?” he asked. “Because it’s still assault with a deadly weapon.”

He also was disappointed with what he sees as a lack of support from the community and other charities in the city.

“If this had been out in the suburbs, wouldn’t the donations be rolling in?” he asked.

In the effort to find her niece’s killer, Chavis said anything would help.

“I did get a few donations — $20 here, $10 here,” she said. “But even a little bit helps.”

Detective Donny Moses, a Baltimore Police Department spokesman, said the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information may contact police at 410-396-2606.

sgentile@baltimoreexaminer.com