Mother of Alabama hit-and-run victim speaks out

“They had some bad news to tell me that there was a hit-and-run and that he didn’t make it,” Tammy said. “I just lost it.”

Tammy’s 38-year-old son, Jesse Lee Turner, was hit by a car on US-72 and in French Farms Boulevard in Athens Saturday night. The driver immediately drove off, and Jesse was pronounced dead at the scene. Athens Police said the hit-and-run was a car versus Jesse, a pedestrian.

The driver fleeing the scene leaves the Turner family with more questions than answers.

“I want to know why she left the scene, why she did not stop,” Tammy said. “And then the second time she drove back around, she could have stopped the second time. Even if it’s a cat or dog or anything, just don’t run. You know? And this was a human. It was my son.”

Tammy said Jesse was always happy and smiling with a heart of gold. There was one thing that made him smile the most: being a devoted, loving father to his daughter Harlee. Tammy said the two had an unbreakable bond, making this loss even harder on the now 17-year-old girl.

“He loved Harlee so much,” Tammy said. “When she was around, he was all about her, and then she was all about him. Daddy’s girl.”

Athens Police arrested the suspected driver, Kimberly Dawn Hurth, on Tuesday. Tammy said that while that gives her some relief, it does not bring her son back.

“I was supposed to go before him,” Tammy said. “A parent’s not supposed to lose their kid.”

Getting emotional, Tammy said if she had one more chance to talk to Jesse, she would just tell him how much she misses him.

“I love him, I miss him every day,” Tammy said.

Community members organized a GoFundMe to support Harlee with expenses once she graduates high school.