Mom Killed In Thanksgiving Hit & Run Remembered In Home State
DENVER (CBS4) - A remembrance ceremony was held Monday at a school in Hoover, Alabama for the victim of a hit and run in Denver on Thanksgiving night. Karen King worked as a librarian at an elementary school, loved children and finding them just the right book according to friends at her school.
They say she was passionate about her family and came to Colorado to spend Thanksgiving with her daughter, Kendall.
Her principal, Dilhani Uswatte, said Karen was looking forward to going to Denver.
"I knew she was going to spend time with her daughter which was very sacred."
It was Thanksgiving night when Karen, her husband and daughter were struck while crossing at Quebec and Martin Luther King Drive. They were a block from the daughter's apartment.
The car involved may have gone through a red light and did not stop. It has been described by witnesses as a black or dark blue car, perhaps a Cadillac.
Uswatte says the first day back at school was hard for everyone.
"This has been a really tough day for us, I'm not going to lie."
She and others had to break the news to the students. The loss is difficult to explain to children.
"They know there was a car accident, and that Mrs. king died from a car accident."
Amy Mills, a school counselor, lost a colleague and more.
"I was good friends with Karen. We would meet in mornings, and we had conversations and she would always make me laugh," she said.
Karen's husband, Alan, a Birmingham-area probate court judge and her daughter are both at Denver Health.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.