Dacula teen hit, killed by driver while walking with friend

DACULA, Ga. - Makayla Ellis' parents are desperate for answers after their daughter was killed in Dacula Saturday night. The Dacula High School student died after she was struck by a car while walking along Dacula Road.

The 17-year-old victim and her friend Jaliah Lee were walking to Lee's house when she was hit.

"We walked down a little where traffic was slowing down. Makayla was standing behind the white line.  I was standing right behind her, and a car came out of nowhere and hit her," Lee told FOX 5's Deidra Dukes. "When I looked up, all I saw was my best friend flying across the street, and I'm pretty sure the only reason that man stopped was because I was screaming."

Family and friends of Makayla Ellis are mourning the teen after she was fatally struck by a driver while walking along Dacula Road.

Ellis died at the hospital.

Grieving classmates returned to the scene Wednesday as her family demanded answers from police.

Makayla's loved ones said no one from the Gwinnett Police Department reached out to them following her death. They claim they're getting the runaround.

Family and friends of Makayla Ellis are mourning the teen after she was fatally struck by a driver while walking along Dacula Road.

"Running around, transferring to this person, talk to this person. [Then] we get to this person, and it's no empathy. That's my thing, no ‘Sorry for your loss.’ It's just, 'I don't know,'" Makayla's aunt Daaiyah Scott said.

Makayla's family said she suffered extensive injuries. They believe this proves that the driver was speeding.

The driver who struck the teen remained at the scene. He reportedly told responding officers that Makayla was in the roadway when she was hit. Lee insists that's not true.

"He was speeding," Lee said. "If he wasn't speeding, she would still be here."

A police spokesperson says the investigation is ongoing.