The woman found dead near the shoulder of Interstate 95 in Maryland last week was hit by a tractor-trailer after she got in an argument in a car and walked along the highway, a source tells News4.
Lourdina Hyppolite, of Beltsville, Maryland, was found dead the morning of Nov. 21 after a hit-and-run on I-95 northbound near Sandy Spring Road (Route 198) in the Laurel area. She was 22.
Hyppolite had been riding in a car with a friend and there was an argument, a source said. She ended up walking along the highway. It wasn't clear if the friend kicked her out of the car or if she chose to exit.
Hyppolite worked at a diner on Route 1 and sent money home to her mother in Haiti, her father said Wednesday.
"She was a very good girl," Jean Gardy Hyppolite said.
Her friends said she had aspirations of a career beyond waiting tables.
“Cosmetology was definitely a gift that she was given, for sure,” Sasha Turnbo said. “She could do different things — braiding, curling, any style you needed.”
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They said they could hardly fathom the loss.
"She had a very sweet voice. She was very innocent," Turnbo said.
“She was genuine,” Jahsuan Bellard said. “You don’t find that in many people. She was extremely genuine.”
Multiple people who saw the truck hit Hyppolite called 911. Her body was found about 7:30 a.m. Nov. 21 near the shoulder of the highway, Maryland State Police said.
Police said in an update Tuesday that the hit-and-run driver was found in North Carolina. The suspect's name was not released. Charges are pending.
“She’s dead, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” her father said. “The driver’s life is not going to replace her life.”
Hyppolite's family is fundraising for her funeral and for a plane ticket for her mother.
