Pedestrian hit by car in Marietta dies

Crash happened Wednesday at Cahoon Road and Hastings Street

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 71-year-old man hit by a car Wednesday night in the Marietta neighborhood on the Westside died Thursday, according to his family.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office report said Alan Colburn was crossing Cahoon Road against traffic when he was hit by a Chevy Sonic. He suffered critical injuries and died at the hospital.

The driver was not injured and stayed at the scene of the crash, which happened at the intersection of Cahoon Road and Hastings Street, which is between West Beaver Street and I-10. 

Friends who knew Colburn for years said he kept to himself but always wore a smile.

The retiree lived on Cahoon Road, near the crash site, for nearly 40 years.

“We used to sit in front of the store and he would sit in Indian style like this and he would say, 'How you doing young man?' Even if I'm busy at my shop, I would take time out, and I will talk to him,” Ronnie Jackson said.

Jackson was friends with Colburn for 10 years and described him as a special guy who loved his late wife and his family. He said he'd always see Colburn walking his granddaughter to school.

“He would be on the bike and she would be walking right behind him, but I used to be afraid of him crossing the street with her,” Jackson said.

Jackson said over the years, the traffic on the road has increased, and that's why he had made it a point to express those concerns to his friend, who was always walking on the busy road to go to the grocery store or to church.

“I'm very hurt by it, but you couldn't have found a better person than him,” Jackson said. “He was a very kind and sweet person, and I'm trying not to get emotional right now, but I'm going to stop by his family's house and see if there's anything I can do to help them out.”

The accident is still under investigation.