Richmond County authorities have captured the hit & run driver who allegedly killed an Augusta woman Saturday as she was riding her bicycle with her 14-year-old son.
Jasmine Nicole Johnson, 29, was taken into custody Thursday morning for the hit & run death of 38-year-old Joni Mitchell, authorities said. Exact charges have not been released, but Johnson was listed as wanted in 2016 for burglary and robbery by force.
The victim’s best friend, Shae Carter, said investigators gave them the good news earlier Thursday and how they found the suspect vehicle, a green 2022 Ford Explorer.
“We broke down, and we was crying,” said Shae Carter, the victim’s best friend since she was 14. “He showed us the vehicle, how damaged it was, and he said he got her this morning with no license, no registration, no insurance and active warrant.”
Mitchell was riding her bicycle Saturday afternoon with the youngest of her three sons when she was struck on Lumpkin Road at Fleming Drive. Her son looked on in horror as his mother was thrown several yards from her bicycle and died on the scene.
According to Carter, he searched for almost five minutes to find his mother’s phone to call for help.
“Her son was right there,” Carter said. “(The driver) just left her son. She just hit her like she was no one.”
The family has been doing everything they can to help with the case as they sought an arrest.
“I’m grateful, and I have cried and I have prayed for justice,” Carter said. “I am glad they gave us justice, but it will not replace the hurt. … She could have stopped. She could have helped. But she didn’t care.”
Mitchell was survived by her husband Evan Mitchell and three sons, ages 14, 16 and 19. She is also survived by a granddaughter. A balloon release is being scheduled for Saturday, but details have not been finalized.
