LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Family and friends gathered at the Salvation Army’s chapel on Thursday morning to pay their respects to Tamaris Mack, a 15-year-old student at Bryan Station High School who was killed last week in a hit-and-run on Bryan Station Road.
“If you have a heart, you need to do the right thing and turn yourself in,” Tamaris' cousin Tammy Buchanan said of the driver who police said fled the scene of the crash without calling for help or rendering aid.
Buchanan, like anyone who knew Tamaris, thought the world of her.
“She was a good kid. Good student. Loved to dance. At every family function we had she would step up and help us out,” Buchanan said.
Mack’s friends were overcome with grief. One could be heard sobbing in a car outside the chapel, while another still can’t believe what happened.
“I don’t have any words. I’m speechless,” said classmate Landen Murphy.
Buchanan did have the words, choosing all of them carefully while talking about Tamaris, even while discussing what life will be like without her.
“She will always be where we are. Every function, every day in our hearts. She will live there every day, and we have to pull together as a family and be strong for one another,” Buchanan said.
A tall task, especially given the driver of that vehicle hasn’t yet been identified.
“We want justice. We need that closure for our family,” Buchanan said.
