SOUTHGATE, Mich. – A candlelight vigil was held Sunday night to remember 35-year-old Jessica Strother, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Southgate.
It was hard for Shane Johnson to make it through the interview, recalling the moments he saw his wife, Jessica Strother, being hit right before his very eyes as they were crossing the street Saturday.
“I tried to reach and I couldn’t get her in time and she just got hit. She flew,” Johnson said. “I lost my child. I lost my wife. I really, really miss her”.
It’s unclear what led to the accident taking place but Johnson said the driver of the vehicle didn’t even try to stop.
“When he hit her, I didn’t see brake lights. He just acted like he was driving normal still,” Johnson recalled. “No brake lights. He just kept going.”
Jessica was six months pregnant with a little girl on the way. She now leaves behind a 17-year-old daughter.
A vigil was held in the exact same place where Jessica was killed, near the intersection of Fort and Superior streets. Family, friends and even her daughter’s cheerleading squad was there to pay her respects. Jessica has just attended her daughter’s cheering competition shortly before she was killed.
“It was unreal. I didn’t think that it even happened. I just couldn’t believe that I was talking to her mom yesterday at the cheer competition,” said Hanna Zalewski. “It just blew my mind.”
In the mean time, Johnson is just trying to pick up the pieces with the void now left by his wife’s death.
“I think about her all the time. I wish I could have done something, maybe talked a little bit longer before we walked,” Johnson concluded. “I don’t know -- maybe took a different way. Just love the people you love. Don’t hate cause you’re there and then you’re gone in the blink of an eye.”
The driver is in custody but we’re waiting on a toxicology report to hopefully shed some light on what happened.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Southgate Police Department at 734-258-3060.
More: Metro Detroit crime news