Mystery solved after woman killed in Laguna Beach hit-and-run is identified after 40 years

A sketch provided by the DNA Doe Project shows Virginia Irene Nelson, who was killed in a hit-and-run along the Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach in 1982 - (DNA Doe Project)

For more than four decades, a woman killed in a hit-and-run was known only as “Laguna Beach Jane Doe.” Now, advances in DNA technology have finally given her back her name.

Authorities have identified the woman as Virginia Irene Nelson, known as “Ginny” to her family. She was 46 years old when she was struck and killed along Pacific Coast Highway in January 1982.