MACON, Ga. — A Macon woman is now charged in the fatal hit-and-run death of a 67-year-old man. The Bibb County Sheriff's office says 29-year-old Erica Latee Buckner turned herself in Tuesday.
She's accused of striking Freddie Evans on Riverside Drive with her SUV on September 7.
An advocate for Macon's homeless populations says they are a vulnerable population on the city's streets.
On September 7, Loxlan Bueford lost a friend.
“Freddie was a nice person,” Bueford said. “He was very sweet, he was humble. Looked out for a lot of people.”
According to the Bibb Sheriff's office, just before 8:30 p.m., a hit-and-run driver killed Evans as he stood in the center turning lane of Riverside Drive.
“When they told me that he got hit by a car, it really did bring tears to my eyes,” Bueford said.
Sister Teresa Sullivan is director of the Daybreak Day shelter which helps the city's homeless. She said she knew Evans too.
“He has actually been at Daybreak and was working towards trying to get back on his feet,” she said.
Feet are sometimes the only way for the folks who use Daybreak to get around
“The basic necessities that we enjoy every day, whether it be transportation–safety is a huge issue for our people who are homeless,” Sullivan said.
But accidents like Evans' aren't uncommon.
“Freddie is an example of the heartbreak we feel every year when two to three of our people are victims of a pedestrian accident,” she said.
Bueford, who also uses Daybreak, says drivers completely disregard people walking by the road.
"They treat us real bad,” he said. “We see them be driving too fast and I be trying to move out of the way.”
Bibb Coroner Leon Jones says he couldn’t say how many victims of pedestrian deaths experience homelessness.
“We don’t keep those stats. I want the facts to be accurate and I don’t want to guess,” he said.
However, he says since 2020, there have been 55 pedestrian deaths.
“That’s a lot to me,” Jones said. “Like, Pio Nono Avenue is one of the most dangerous roads in Georgia.”
Jones says many of the deaths he sees can be preventable. He says, for example, the clothing a person wears at night while walking is important.
“The pedestrian has some share of accountability. If you’re walking in a dark area with dark clothes, that’s a recipe for disaster,” he said. “However, speed can be a factor too. The speed on the driver’s part can be a factor.”
Sullivan also says right now there is an inequality in transportation.
“It is indicative of who has cars, who can afford to ride a bus, and who can’t even afford a bus ticket. All those are several factors that contribute to pedestrian accidents," she said.
So, while Bibb County works to make roads safe, she says folks should make sure to cross at crosswalks, look both ways, wear bright clothes, and to ask drivers to slow down.
“I think everybody– both the driver, the walker– the more conscious we are of safety, the more that we can prevent things that are totally preventable,” Sullivan said.
Buckner faces several charges including vehicular homicide, failure to stop at an accident, and driving on a suspended license.
She is being held at the Bibb County jail without bond.