‘A faceless person’: Friends, family honor hit-and-run victim as cases continue to grow

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee is routinely ranked as one of the most dangerous states for pedestrians, and that fact has been proven repeatedly.

Two years after a man was hit and left for dead in Nashville, his loved ones have had to watch countless other families go through the same heartache.

It can happen in a matter of seconds. Just ask Tamara Hackney. After all, it took just a moment for her life to change.

"That was my person and I still love him just as much as the first day we met," Hackney said. "I am working on myself and to forgive a faceless person for something so terrible."

It's been two years since Metro police released information about a man who was hit by an SUV while walking across Bell Road. The pedestrian was identified as 37-year-old Paul Chadwick , better known as Alex.

Hackney was his girlfriend at the time and ran out of their hotel room to help, but Alex later died from his injuries.

"I have nightmares still," Hackney told News 2. "Sometimes in them I try to save him and it sucks because I wake up and my reality is even worse."

No one was arrested in the case, which is why Hackney wants to make sure no one forgets what happened.

"He should still be here," Hackney said, standing in front of a handmade memorial for Alex. "Hit and runs happen all the time. I see them. Every single hit and run that has happened on this road I know about. Every single time my heart truly goes out to their family because I know what it feels like to lose somebody in something so tragic."

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol , so far this year 31 pedestrians have been hit and killed in Nashville.