JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Friends of Richard Humphries want the driver who hit and killed him and then drove away, behind bars.
“I go down there a couple of times a week. I just make sure there is a balloon or flowers or something down there,” Humphires’ friend, Loretta Knappenberger, said.
There is a cross and a bundle of flowers that lie where Humphries was hit while riding his bike back in January.
On top of the cross, it reads, “I love you.” It sits along North Mimosa Avenue in Middleburg.
The driver of the car left him dead on the side of the road.
“It’s hard. It’s very hard to accept the fact that my friend lost his life,” Knappenberger said.
One of the most difficult parts about Knappenberger visiting Richard’s cross every couple of days is that she has to walk past the tire marks from the crash.
Action News Jax first told you back in January when FHP was looking for a white PT Cruiser in connection with the fatal hit-and-run.
Action News Jax confirmed with FHP that the car was found days after the initial crash, but no official arrest has been made.
“I’m not letting this go like that. That’s not how it’s supposed to be. They’re not going to take his life and leave him on the side of the road in a ditch like he didn’t matter,” Knappenberger said.
She is pushing for answers from law enforcement.
FHP said it is still an active investigation.
“Yes, the vehicle was located after the collision. It now takes the investigators to process evidence and obtain an ID on a possible driver. Then, the suspected driver will then have to be placed in the car at the time of the crash, by testimony or physical evidence. That is what we are currently working on,” an FHP spokesperson said.
Knappenberger hopes justice is served soon. She said she misses her friend every day.
“He has a spot in my heart and in my life, no one will be able to replace. And it’s not fair,” Knappenberger said.
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