JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police are asking the public's help in finding the driver who hit and killed a homeless man late Thursday night.
It happened around 11:30 p.m. on the Westside, near Cassat Avenue and Normandy Boulevard.
Police said 50-year-old Wayne Keith Allen was crossing Cassat Avenue when he was hit by a car traveling south. Police said the driver didn't stop and Allen died at the hospital.
Allen's ex-wife, Rachel Boardman, said the two had been divorced for 15 years, but they were still very good friends. She said she had just talked to him the other day, and she's heartbroken that this happened.
"It hurts so much to think that he went that way," Boardman said.
Boardman said she will never forget that moment when police came to her door to tell her about the accident.
"I said, 'Was he drinking?' He said, 'Yes.' And that he was crushed," Boardman said. "I wondered how much pain he suffered before he was taken out of the world."
Boardman said Allen had struggled with alcoholism. She said it crumbled their marriage and led him to homelessness. But still, they loved each other.
"He said, 'There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do for you,'" Boardman recalled. "He called me his little 'wooing-eyed woman.'"
Boardman said despite his problems, Allen was a good person. She said her heart also goes out to the person who hit him.
"I know that they were probably scared," she said. "They didn't know what to do. I believe it was just an accident. I don't think they meant to kill him."
Right now, police haven't said if they know what kind of car hit Allen. They have very few details to go on.
Anyone with information on the accident is asked to call them as soon as possible at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS