'I Know That They Had To Hear The Thump': Family Mourns Man Killed In B-W Parkway Hit-And-Run
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) -- A father of five was hit and killed on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Prince George's County Wednesday night, and the driver or drivers who hit him have still not been identified.
Mark Johnson's family has a message for those responsible: come forward and take full responsibility for what they've done.
Baltimore Man Killed In Hit And Run On BW Parkway
"My father was one of the best men I ever knew," Johnson's son Nick said.
Johnson leaves behind not only five kids but 13 grandchildren, his wife Pamela and a large extended family.
"There was not a time that I called my father that he did not pick up. And that's just the spirit that he is," Nick Johnson said.
The 52-year-old was a Baltimore native. His family spoke to WJZ Thursday outside his childhood home in Northwood in northeast Baltimore.
Johnson, a plumber, was called out to an emergency near Prince George's County, Nick said.
"It was kind of the perfect storm, unfortunately," Nick said. "The car runs out of gas and then you can't charge your cell phone, then your cell phone dies, so you have no choice but to get out and walk," Nick said.
U.S. Park Police officers responded to the parkway at Interstate 495 just before midnight. Investigators said one or more cars struck Johnson and then left the scene.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"I know that they had to hear the thump and nobody even bothered to stop," Johnson's wife Pamela said.
The family hopes whoever was behind the wheel clears their conscience and comes forward.
"Whether it's two days, two years, I won't stop until I have justice for my father," Nick said.
Police do not have a suspect vehicle description.
Anyone who may have information on the crash should call U.S. Park Police at 202-610-8737.