SPARTA, Ga. — Mary Jones devoted her life to helping people as a police dispatcher. The city of Sparta is reeling after she was killed in a hit and run in Florida.
Sparta police chief Tommy Walker Jr. said that he still can't believe that Mary Jones is gone.
“It left us in a place of shock and emptiness,” Walker said.
Around 12:35 a.m. on Thursday, Jones was traveling back to Georgia after visiting her daughter in college. Walker said she was attempting to secure items on a trailer and was then hit by a car.
“Ms. Jones she didn't deserve that," Walker said. "We want to acknowledge her and honor her to the highest so that she knows that she was loved."
Florida state troopers said the driver, who is believed to be in a black or dark gray ford explorer did not stop and instead drove away after hitting Jones. Chief walker says the car was found and Florida state troopers are still investigating.
“We know that the vehicle was abandoned and the damages that occurred during the accident were shown on the vehicle,” Walker said.
While Walker knows how much Jones' death hurt him and the rest of the Sparta Police Department, he recalled how hurt her husband felt after learning of his wife's passing.
“He told me his heart was torn," Walker said. "He lost his best friend, and you know our hearts go out to them."
Fellow dispatcher Jessica Walls said Jones invited her to attend the trip to Florida, but she declined. She said Jones told her it would just be a round trip. Before Jones left, Walls left her with one message: "be safe."
The Sparta Police Department says they will continue to remember Mary Jones as a hero to their station, as Walls described how she will forever remember Jones.
“A happy person, very family oriented, we all come as one and now one has broken the puzzle... the piece to the puzzle,” Walls said.