DEKALB COUNTY, Ga.,None — The family of a man struck and killed on Interstate 285 drove eight hours to Atlanta on Monday, but wasted little time trying to find the hit-and-run driver.
Terrance Jackson, 23, died when he was hit on the highway in DeKalb County near East Ponce de Leon on Sunday morning. Police said he was in a gray Honda Accord that pulled over on the shoulder and was hit when he stepped out of the vehicle.
"It's very hard to deal with something like this when you're eight hours away," Latoya Jackson, Terrance's sister, told Channel 2's John Bachman.
Jackson's family had just arrived at his apartment in Tucker when they spoke to Bachman and offered a picture of Jackson, hoping that someone with information would come forward.
"At this point, whether or not the person stopped, my brother still would have passed away, but just (have) the respect and decency just to pull over," Jackson said.
"No one knows what kind of car hit him, where the car went. So many unanswered questions just about whole night of the accident," Jackson's mother, Deborah Hill, said.
Jackson's mother said her son was a passenger in his roommate's car along with another friend.
"They did say they were coming from a club and they were drinking a little bit. They were arguing. He missed the exit so he pulled over," Hill told Bachman.
An off duty police deputy was injured when he swerved to avoid Jackson lying in the intestate and hit the median. The deputy is in good condition.
Hill said she planned to collect her son's belongings and car and speak with police.
"It'll never bring him back, never bring my baby back, but it'll give me closure," Hill said.
Police interviewed the other two people in the car with Jackson. They also interviewed a truck driver who was parked nearby, but they do not have a description of the car that hit Jackson.
"I don't know how I'm going to make it without him. I don't know how I'm going to make it without him," she said.
Hill said her son was going to school to become a pharmacist.