JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A mother hit by a car and killed late Sunday night while crossing New Kings Road in the Dinsmore neighborhood was a "free spirit" who was relentlessly positive, loved ones said Wednesday.
Just before 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Jodi Hale, 34, was crossing New Kings Road (U.S. Highway 1) about two miles north of Interstate 295 when she was struck by a Toyota Corolla traveling north, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Hale died at the scene, troopers said.
Loved ones said Hale was always laughing and loved making others laugh.
"No matter how bad it got, she saw the good in everybody, and that was Jodi," said Lee Stokes, the victim's soon-to-be brother-in-law.
Troopers said Hale walked into the path of a car driven by a 20-year-old Hilliard man. Stokes said the family believes Hale may have been stargazing.
"One thing they believe in is the stars, and Jodi liked to walk around and see the different views where she could get a wide-open view. And that may have been what she was doing," Stokes said.
Family members said Hale, a mother of three, loved being with her children, spending time at their schools and spending time with her parents, sister and cousin.
Stokes told News4Jax on Wednesday that the family got a chance to speak with the driver who hit Stokes, who told them he was coming home from work at the time of the crash, and he too is now suffering.
"Good guy and when we talked to him, all he could do was cry. He didn't mean to do this," Stokes said. "This is just as hard on him as it is on us."
What's been even more difficult for the family is not being able to lay Hale to rest, so the family has set up a GoFundMe account in hopes the community will help with funeral expenses.
"The only way that we're going to get closure for the kids, the grandparents, for her sister is to get her in the ground. That's going to be the only way because, right now, this is killing them," Stokes said.
Anyone wishing to contribute can do so on the GoFundMe page.