Local mother uses social media, community help to find justice for her children following hit-and-run accident

HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WXXV) — How far will a mother go for those she loves? For local mother Marie Garside, absolutely nothing could stop her efforts to solve a hit-and-run case that injured three of her children.

“I was going to do whatever I had to do to find who these people were.”

The accident in question happened on March 6th. A driver ran Garside’s daughter, 18-year-old Mariah Gill, and two teenage sons off of I-10 eastbound between the Kiln-Delisle Road and Menge Avenue exits.

“I tried to share the road in case they wanted to come over and they could, and they fully took the road,” Gill explained, “And I was dumbfounded, kind of. Like, it really hurt when I knew what was about to happen.”

Gill navigated the dire situation as well as she could, but the car flipped upside down multiple times before landing upside down in a canal.

“I found [an] airhole where I was, and I told [my brothers] that I found one, and I hear their voices fading and saying, ‘My sister’s still in there!’ And that’s where I look for the light, and I swim towards them… and we got out.”

Bystanders pulled over to help the victims, but the car that caused the accident was nowhere to be found.

“Everybody keeps on telling me the car has left, and that’s all I’m thinking, is that the car literally left us to die,” Gill said.

Gill and her brothers were rushed to the hospital. As they fought through their injuries, Garside fought for answers, taking to social media to see if anyone had information.

“Friday night we were sitting in Memorial Hospital and my post started getting views after views after views,” Garside said. “Come Saturday, it was up to 250 thousand views, and my inbox — I couldn’t keep up.”

With everyone from eyewitnesses to law enforcement officials providing tips and searching cameras, a red Kia Soul was identified as the vehicle that instigated the crash. According to Mississippi Highway Patrol officials, the Kia Soul is tied to locations in Adams and Lincoln counties, and a suspect has been identified.

“They’ve literally solved this very quickly,” Garside said.

It’s largely thanks to a mother’s determination that hasn’t gone unnoticed by her daughter.

“Just knowing that my mother could do that and actually get the truth brought out to us, it helped us a lot,” Gill explained. “Knowing that we found the person helps also.”