Rocky Mountain House RCMP are investigating after a pedestrian was killed in a hit-and-run collision on the Sunchild First Nation early Friday morning.
Police said they believe the woman was walking on the main road, approximately 2.2 kilometres west of the school road, at about 3 a.m. when she was struck by a vehicle.
“Emergency Medical Services and the Rocky Mountain House RCMP responded to the scene to find the female deceased upon arrival, and the vehicle to have fled,” police said in a news release Friday night.
RCMP identified the woman on Saturday as a 39-year-old mother of five — three girls and two boys ranging from 15 months to 19 years old.
People from the community are remembering Debbie Bird as a kind and loving person who always went above and beyond.
“She was a very loving and caring woman. Anyone that’s ever met her would tell you the same, too. She cared for everybody. She had a really big heart,” said her daughter, Whitney Bradshaw, on Sunday.
“She taught us all how to love.”
Bird’s family just wants answers.
“I’m so angry that they just left her there,” Bradshaw said. “They didn’t stop and call. They just left her there. She had babies. She’s a mother and she held us all together. She was the glue. She was the backbone of her family and now we are lost without her.”
RCMP spent Sunday doorknocking, hoping that someone would have information that could lead to an arrest.
“We really need the community to provide some information,” said Sgt. Matthew Pepper on Sunday. “It’s a hard grind trying to track down these individuals or individual responsible for this.”
Anyone with information about what happened is asked to call the Rocky Mountain House RCMP detachment at 403-845-2882 or their local police service. Tips can also be anonymously submitted to Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
Sunchild First Nation is about 150 kilometres northwest of Red Deer.
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