JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax is hearing from the mother of Rebecca McCarley, an Atlantic Beach woman killed late Sunday night in a hit-and-run not far from Naval Station Mayport.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) confirmed with Action News Jax that the crash happened near the intersection of Wonderwood Drive and A1A. McCarley’s family said she was hit by a car while riding her bike with a friend over the bridge on Wonderwood Drive just east of the intersection.
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McCarley’s mother, Sheena, tells us her daughter’s friend saw the driver hit her daughter before turning around, driving back by Rebecca’s body, and driving away. We’re told the two had been riding in the bicycle lane.
“They just left her there…the person that hit her,” McCarley’s mother said, “they knew they hurt her, they knew they hit her, and left again.”
Action News Jax went to the crash site, the bridge on Wonderwood Drive, and found a teddy bear atop the bridge’s barrier, alongside a written message reading, “RIP Becca, you will be missed, see you on the other side!”
McCarley’s mother describes her as someone fiercely loyal to those she loves, including her 18-year-old son.
“He was everything to her,” Sheena McCarley said, “she would do anything for her family and friends.”
Records from the city of Jacksonville show that, since 2020, there have been three other people hit and killed while riding their bikes near the intersection where McCarley was hit.
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The city has an initiative called the “Vision Zero Action Plan,” which includes a list of safety projects meant to reduce traffic deaths. We searched the list and found nothing at or near the intersection where the hit-and-run happened.
No arrests have been made in the hit-and-run, despite McCarley’s mother claiming JSO has informed her of video evidence of the crash being obtained by police. We asked JSO if it has such evidence and were told that the agency could not confirm whether it was using particular pieces of evidence since this is an active investigation.
We have requested the report of the hit-and-run from JSO and are still waiting to receive it. Data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shows this is, at least, the 10th person killed in a hit-and-run crash in Duval County so far this year.
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