FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WSMV) - Whether it was traveling, cooking, or dancing Ellie Sims’ family said she had a passion for life.
“She was like a bright force,” her mom Kristen Sims said, “She lived life on her own terms and we loved her for that. To know her was to love her for that.”
A life that was cut short when the 20-year-old was hit and killed on Monday evening while in a crosswalk in Tallahassee. Something her older sister, Anna, says is still difficult to understand.
“I just remember telling my mom, ‘No, there’s no way that it’s our Ellie, out of 30,000 students that crossed that crosswalk every single day. It was our Ellie,” Anna said.
Authorities announced Tuesday that 18-year-old Willis Trueblood Jr. was arrested for leaving the scene of the fatal hit-and-run.
Now instead of Ellie heading home for the year - the family is in Florida picking up her belongings.
“There’s just such a hole now that’s left by her absence. It’s just such a senseless act,” Kristen said, “I was literally just here last weekend. I was so proud to be her mother.”
Ellie was in Tallahassee finishing her sophomore year at Florida State University after growing up in Franklin and graduating from Page High School.
Dr. Katie Hill, principal of Page High School, released a statement on Sims’ passing as the community mourns her death.
“The Page High family is deeply saddened to hear of Ellie’s passing, and we extend our deepest sympathy to her family,” the statement said. “Ellie will be greatly missed by her teachers, coaches, teammates, peers and all who knew and loved her, and we will remember her for her sweet smile, her kind spirit and her compassion for all.”
The kind spirit – that her family says touched communities in Tennessee and Florida.
“She was just becoming this beautiful woman that I was very, very proud to know - I am very proud to know.”
Her dad said if there’s one thing you take away from her story he hopes it’s this:
“Love those people that that you love. Be authentically yourself, and appreciate the life that you have - the time that we’re here,” Sims’ dad said.
A petition was started to add a traffic light at the crosswalk where Sims was killed, in hopes that no other family would have to go through this. They believe their daughter would still be alive if one had been installed earlier.
A GoFundMe can be found here to help with funeral expenses.
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