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'I just want to know what happened': Family of pedestrian killed on Mercer University Drive says they want answers

The family says Lucas would normally walk from Wellworth Avenue, where he lived, down to one of the stores and back

MACON, Ga. — The Georgia State Patrol is still investigating how a pedestrian was hit and killed on Mercer University Drive Thursday night. 

The Bibb County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as 64-year-old Hilton Lucas.

"He's one of the simplest, most complicated men you could meet. He would take the shirt off his back. He didn't have any enemies. He didn't bother nobody. He stays here, walks to the store," said Brandyn Lucas, Hilton's son said.

Lucas says his father would typically walk from Wellworth Avenue where he lived, down to one of the stores and back, so when friends in the area heard about a scene near there Thursday night, they asked Lucas to check on his father.

"So I called my father, didn't get an answer," Brandyn Lucas said. 

He says he then drove to his father's home.

"Everybody was in the yard saying that I needed to go down there. That's when I found out," Brandyn Lucas said. 

According to the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, they got a call around 9 p.m. about a person hit and killed near Wellworth Avenue. The sheriff's office says witnesses reported a dark-colored vehicle speeding away from the scene, heading west on Mercer University Drive.

Deputies responded to the call,  but Lt. Sean DeFoe says when deputies were trying to find the victim, Deputy Kawon Pettigrew hit Lucas with his patrol car. Pettigrew has worked for the sheriff's office since December 2017. DeFoe says he remains on the job.

Sgt. Brandon Brown of the State Patrol says investigators are still working to determine why Lucas was in the roadway and what happened before the deputy hit him. 

"Ultimately, we want to know what really happened. I just want to know what happened," Brandyn Lucas said. 

The Georgia State Patrol says that Deputy Pettigrew was not speeding at the time of the incident. They are looking through surveillance video at surrounding businesses to see what happened leading up to when the deputy hit Lucas.

While the state patrol investigates, Lt. Defoe says the sheriff's office will conduct its own internal affairs investigation.

   

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