The heartbroken family of a Dallas hit-and-run victim is making an emotional plea for the public's help as police continue to search for the driver who struck her.
Rhonda Gatling was hit early Wednesday morning along State Highway 75 between Hall Street and Haskell Avenue. The driver who ran into her took off without stopping.
She was brought to Baylor University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon.
Her sister and brother-in-law say it's not entirely clear why she was out on the highway. The Dallas Police Department continues to investigate.
"It has been very hard," said Tom Griffith, Gatling's brother-in-law.
Griffith, who is also the Chief of the Pantego Police Department, says throughout his career, he's had to make the devastating phone calls to families letting them know something bad happened to a loved one -- yet nothing could have prepared him or his family for the news they received.
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"It's not the same as dealing with someone that you don't know, when you can think clearly and work correctly," said Griffith. "When something happens to your family, all you can think about is your family."
His wife, Thryza Griffith, describes her sister as "wonderful, wacky, fun loving spirit."
"It's like half of me is laying there," she said through tears.
At the request of their family, doctors are now working to see if any of her organs can be donated.
In the meantime, they're pleading with the community to help police find the driver.
"How can you do that?" said Thryza Griffith. "How can you do that? That's a human being. It's not a piece of trash. It's somebody's life there. And I want any help from someone to help me find them."
"Anything that we can do to get the word out to the public -- maybe someone saw something, saw a vehicle and can come forward," said Tom Griffith. "Anything at all will help."
"Our family wants to donate her organs in her memory -- so the hospital is taking the precautions and the steps that need to be taken for that to happen."
