Arie Phillips was remembered with her name spelled in candles at vigil

Arie Phillips’ first name was spelled out with small candles on the sidewalk late Wednesday where a Columbus hit-and-run driver struck the teen in the 6300 block of Flat Rock Road.

More than 100 family, friends and residents in the area gathered to remember the 14-year-old teen who was struck on Easter Sunday as she and her brother walked to Wendy’s Hamburgers while visiting from Fayetteville , N.C. She was in a coma at Midtown Medical Center in Columbus when she died three days later.

David Phillips, the teen’s father, said the family really didn’t want to lose their daughter. “I wouldn’t want anybody to have to go through this,” he said. “Everybody has been willing to give us support.”

Just last week at Gray’s Creek High School in Fayetteville, Phillips said his daughter’s soccer team gathered in the middle of the field and released some balloons.

Phillips described Arie as a wonderful daughter who had a large support circle . “She had a big support group, support circle,” he said. “I didn’t know how big her circle was. She was our precious princess. We are going to miss her.”

Eula Johnson Hall , the teen’s aunt from Conyers, Ga., said learning about the crash was instant heartbreak for the family. “She was our angel and our princess,” she said. “You can never expect something like this would happen to a child of her age and character. She was just a beautiful person all the way around. She was a giving person.”

Police are still looking for a burgundy or crimson, four-door crew cab pickup that was captured on a surveillance camera as it left Kitten Lake Drive at Beaver Run Road around 9:15 p.m. The teen was struck about five minutes later. Police said the truck may have possible damage on the right front tire, fender, hood or windshield area.

Hall said she wants the person who struck Arie to come forward. “Somewhere, we are praying that does happen,” she said. “We forgive this person. That’s what God says we have to do. We still want the person to be brought to justice.”

Driving off and leaving the teen there is just heartbreaking, Hall said. “It will make it much better when this person comes forward,” she said.

Ivey Lisa Kime said she hasn’t been the same since she learned about her friend. She had known Arie for three years during her visits to relatives in Columbus.

Kime said she was walking home from the gas station when her mother met her outside their home and said her friend had died. “I dropped to the sidewalk and had a meltdown,” she said.

Kime said Arie was full of life and could make everybody smile. “She would brighten up a room just by walking into it,” she said.

Phillips said the family will be in Columbus until Saturday and Sunday before they start returning home to their jobs. The teen’s funeral will be held in Columbus on Saturday.

Family and friends released more colorful balloons at the end of the candlelight vigil.

Anyone with information about the crash should call the Columbus Police Department at 706-225-4040.

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Arie Phillips was remembered with her name spelled in candles at vigil."