A hit-and-run drunk driver fatally struck a woman late Tuesday as her boyfriend changed a tire alongside her, police say.
Tomika Early, 33, was struck near the eastbound lanes of Suitland Parkway near Stanton Road about 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, police said.
The driver of a blue pickup truck mowed down the Suitland, Md. resident, kept going, rear-ended a white Lexus and then slammed into a light pole, police said.
Early's boyfriend found the young woman's body 50 feet away, family friends said Wednesday.
Robert Paris, 52, of Southeast D.C., was arrested soon after the crash. He has been charged with second-degree murder, driving under the influence and hit-and-run. He was treated for minor injuries, police said.
Early's family coped with another tragedy less than a year ago -- the victim's husband, Shaun Early, died of a heart attack in August. His mother said she felt she had lost a daughter.
"Tomika was a good person, a loving person," family friend Alicia Ginyard Bates said. "She would put her hand out for anyone. She would give out her last dollar."
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AAA Mid-Atlantic advises drivers who break down on major roads to pull off at the closest exit and call for help. If the car cannot be moved, exit the car, AAA representative John Townsend said.
Advertise that you're having car trouble by placing a flag or handkerchief on the antenna, raising the hood, putting on the car's flashers or using emergency flares.
If you have car trouble, you can dial #77 on your cell phone to ask for help. In Maryland, the Highway Administration will change your tire for you.
Lanes of Suitland Parkway were closed through the night but have since reopened.
