MACON, Ga. — Bibb County Sheriff's deputies continue to investigate a deadly hit-and-run in north Macon at a popular shopping center.
The sheriff's office says it happened Tuesday night around 9 p.m. in the back of Shoppes at River Crossing, near Belk. Emma Taylor saw it all happen.
"Stopped at the intersection right here," she said, pointing out where she stopped.
Hoa Tran, 48, was stopped there, too, on her moped. Taylor and her boyfriend signaled her to go.
"As she decided to go, the white Tacoma came up, hit her. And he stopped," she remembered.
Taylor says the driver didn't stop for long. He sped off.
"That was like, 'Oh, my gosh, what is happening?'" Taylor's friend, Emily Scott, remembered.
Scott was there, too, and called 911 as Taylor ran to help.
"There was a lady on the ground with her moped and she was just curled up in a ball, and it was just absolutely terrifying," she said.
Taylor says all she wanted to do in that moment was keep Tran safe until help arrived.
"My mom, she's a nurse, so my first reaction was to try and get her name, tell her not to move, make sure she's calm," she said.
Taylor says first responders got there in minutes, but it was too late for Tran. She died at Atrium Health Navicent just before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. Taylor can't help but wonder if things could be different if the driver had just stopped to accept the consequences.
"I really think it was the fact that he just continued to drive off that really hurt her chances of surviving," she said.
Taylor and her boyfriend managed to get a partial plate number from the Tacoma. She turned it over to the sheriff's office. They confirm they're looking into the tip, but haven't been able to get the whole plate number.
If you have any information on the case, call the Bibb County Sheriff's Office at (478) 751-7500.