By Taylor Kearns - bio | email
IRMO, SC (WIS) - The driver who hit and killed a moped rider this week is still on the run.
Rez Miller was on South Lake Drive early Monday morning when he was run down by a pickup truck that kept on going, leaving him for dead. Now, friends are coming together to raise money to help his family.
"I had to put him to the test, and sure enough he picked me up like it was nothing," said Jason Walrath.
One after the other, they came forward to share a memory about the big man with the bigger personality.
Rez Miller was a guy they say would be intimidating, if only he wasn't smiling all the time. "He made it a good night, and I mean he was a wonderful guy and a good friend," said Clifton Moore. "And I'm going to miss him."
"There are so many wonderful memories of Rez that we all have," said April Talbert, who owns the South Lake Bar and Grill, where Miller was a member of the family.
She organized the gathering, part fundraiser and part wake. All of the proceeds will go to Miller's family.
"This is an opportunity for everybody all his friends and family -- we were family in his mind -- to just get together and remember the good times," said Talbert.
But despite the laughter and good memories, Talbert says it's hard to ignore the fact that the deadly collision happened right outside the bar's front door. Harder still to believe the driver of the pickup truck kept going after slamming into Miller's moped.
"That's hard to know that someone didn't even stop," said Talbert.
Talbert hopes someone will come forward with information that will hopefully bring closure to a life these friends won't forget.
"It's a great loss, and there's nothing to replace that," said Talbert. "We all come across people in our lives, some impact more than others, he was 1 that impacted every life and touched everybody."
The proceeds collected will go to Miller's family to help offset funeral costs. The services will be held in the Lowcountry.
If you know anything about this incident, you are urged to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. You could eligible for a cash reward.
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Hiram "Rez" Miller
