“It’s rough, you know, like a kid, a sister, a sibling, somebody that you can’t look for running through the door anymore,” said Michelle Rice of Springfield.
Durst was headed home after working her shift at Hardee’s the evening she was killed. There was no crosswalk in the area she was hit, and investigators said they were working to determine who is at fault in the accident.
“It’s sad,” Rice said. “I hope that it teaches people that Limestone’s nothing to play with.”
Durst’s friends say they are helping covering the costs for her funeral.
Visitation is 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and 11 a.m. to noon Wednesday at New Life of Springfield Church, 1100 Sunset Ave. Funeral is at noon Wednesday at the church, followed by burial in Fairview Cemetery in Mutual.
UPDATE @ 5:40 a.m. (July 24):
The Springfield Police Division confirmed the woman hit and killed by an SUV Thursday night is Tiffany Durst, 18. Her body is currently at the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, according to officials.
UPDATE @ 9:45 p.m. (July 23): The investigation of the pedestrian accident on South Limestone that left a young woman dead will determine whether she or the driver of the SUV was at fault, Springfield police Sgt. Brett Bauer said.
“We don’t know who was at fault,” Bauer said, noting that investigators have to put together witness statements and evidence from the scene.
Bauer said South Limestone, a state route, is a major artery in the city that is four lanes wide with another lane in the middle. “People take their chances when they cross the street,” he said.
The name and age of the victim has not been released, Bauer said. He noted that she is believed to be in her late teens or early 20s and had a Hardee’s uniform with her. The sergeant said he didn’t know whether she was wearing one when she was struck. There is a Hardee’s restaurant not far from where the accident occurred.
Jasmine Jackson, a manager at Hardee’s in the 2200 block of South Limestone, told Springfield News-Sun Staff Writer Katie Wedell that she spoke with employees there who said the victim had gotten off work at 6 p.m.
The condition of the SUV driver, who was taken to a hospital after she became visibly distraught, was not known, he said. “The driver of the vehicle was extremely distraught and had a bit of a breakdown,” Bauer said.
He said he did not personally give her the news about the fatality, but said she may have been given that news. She and the passengers in her vehicle were not injured in the accident.
UPDATE @ 8:33 p.m.:
The woman hit by an SUV in the area of South Limestone and Singer streets has died, a police sergeant tells us.
The driver of the SUV has become ill after learning of the death and an ambulance has been called for her. Investigators are continuing to work at the scene, which is keeping South Limestone Street closed.
UPDATE @ 7:55 p.m.
Sgt. Jerome Montico of the Springfield Police Division said the pedestrian who was struck this evening is now at Miami Valley Hospital.
“She had life-threatening injuries,” Montico said.
The road will be shut down for several hours while police investigate in the area of South Limestone and Singer streets.
There are no crosswalks in the area where the woman was hit, but Montico would not say whether she was attempted to cross when she was hit.
UPDATE @ 7:10 p.m.
A bag of items are in the street tonight where a woman was struck by a large SUV.
Witnesses said the woman, in her 20s or 30s, was hit by a silver GMC Yukon after 6:30 p.m. near the intersection of South Limestone and Singer streets. There were at least three adults and several children inside the SUV, which stopped after the accident.
One woman, who declined to give her name, said she heard screaming, saw the woman in the road and performed CPR on the pedestrian until medics arrived.
The victim was taken by ambulance shortly after 7 p.m. to a waiting medical helicopter at Springfield Regional Medical Center.
FIRST REPORT
A woman was seriously injured this evening after she was hit by a vehicle.
CareFlight is responding for the pedestrian, who was struck shortly after 6:30 p.m. near the intersection of South Limestone and Singer streets in Springfield.
We are on the way and will update this report as we learn details.