Travelers on Highway 78 west of I-95 in Dorchester County near Reevesville pass a tender tribute at the corner of Meadow Run Drive. William Harley is one of them. He places flowers on a site dedicated to a little boy who died nearby.
"I'd love to do anything for the parents. But you know there's really nothing I can really do except for just to come, you know, show my respects," Harley said, choking back tears.
The Highway Patrol says 3-year-old Jayden Thiel was killed on Monday, February 12 in what's described as a hit and run accident. Investigators returned the following day to figure out where the toddler was located as a passing vehicle hit him before driving away.
"It breaks my heart. I still hear her cry every day. Every night," said Michelle Hayden, who lives down the street from the accident scene.
She remembers seeing and hearing Jayden Thiel's mother on the night her child died. Michelle doesn't understand why the case is still unsolved.
"It’s a senseless tragedy. And I don't understand even if it was an accident, why somebody hasn't came forward yet,” she said. “I mean if it was an accident, you're not going to get in trouble. But at least. At least let the mama know what happened to her baby."
Highway Patrol officers say they're still looking for someone who may have seen what happened to little Jayden Thiel. And they aren't commenting why the child was on the road late at night. For now, people like William Harley hope someone can help investigators.
"I'm just sorry that I don't know who it is," said Harley.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol wants anyone who may have seen something unusual along Highway 78 on the night of the accident to call them. The tipline is 803-896-7920.