ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – Family and friends gathered Tuesday night to remember a St. Johns County teenager hit and killed two years ago by a driver who has still not been found.
The hit-and-run happened on Kenton Morrison Road just south of State Road 16 in St. Johns County.
Loved ones showed up with two purposes: to memorialize Haley Smith, who would have turned 17 this year, and to remind the public that the driver who killed her still hasn't been found.
"It's a struggle. We still miss her, still have her phone number in my phone," Smith's mother, Jo-Lee Manning, said.
Manning said she's made it her mission in life to help find the driver that killed her daughter, as well as help other families going through the loss of a loved one by a hit-and-run driver.
When asked if she thought someone knew something about the death, Manning was very clear.
"Oh yeah, yeah. Someone helped them conceal the crime. The car is probably gone and repaired. One person can't do that. They probably had help," Manning said.
One of the people to show up Tuesday night was the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office detective who's been working the case for the last two years. Detective Joseph McGinnis said they don't have much evidence, just some car parts that narrow the vehicle involved to four possible models, but the range of those car models span 20 years.
They've also received a lot of tips but McGinnis said that it still hasn't been enough.
"We do get tips through CrimeStoppers all the time, we just haven't gotten the one tip (to solve it). A hit and run crash is very much like a jigsaw puzzle. Every tip is a piece but it's the tip we need to put the puzzle together," McGinnis said.
Police are still asking anyone with information on any aspect of the case to call CrimeStoppers at 888-277-TIPS.
Detectives also wanted to remind residents of the information that they do have. The crash happened on Kenton Morrison Road just south of State Road 16 on Nov. 17, 2013.
The vehicle was a dark purple or black Chevy or GMC truck made within the last 20 years and include:
- Chevy S10 pickup
- Chevy S10 Blazer
- GMC S15 pickup
- GMC Jimmy