Augusta, Ga. — The quiet of Thursday night turned tragic on Horseshoe Road when 45-year-old Renay Brown was struck by a car that sped away, leaving behind more questions than answers. The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office confirms Brown, a local beloved for her humor and warmth, was hit around 9 p.m. in the 900 block of Horseshoe Road.
Responding deputies found her lying in the roadway, severely injured. She was rushed to Wellstar MCG but, tragically, the coroner pronounced her dead at 9:38 p.m. Shock and grief swept through her family and neighbors, stunned that someone could vanish like a ghost after taking a life.
Lieutenant James Kelly of the Sheriff’s Office says the vehicle did not remain at the crash site. No witness has yet definitively identified the car. Investigators are now canvassing homes, seeking surveillance footage, and asking every neighbor: Did you see anything — a car, a light, a strange turn?
An autopsy is expected to yield more insight into exactly how it happened. Meanwhile, those who knew Renay Brown are left with memories: her laughter, her kindness, the way she seemed to light up rooms just by walking in. Her absence is already palpable in a community still shaking from disbelief.
Authorities are urging anyone with even the smallest detail — a partial license plate, a fleeting glimpse, or car damage matching a collision — to contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office at (706) 821-1080, or Crime Stoppers at (706) 262-TIPS.
This investigation is ongoing. In a town already too familiar with loss, the question lingers: who left without looking back, and why? And perhaps most painfully: can justice bring peace to those left behind?