April 4, 2021, is the day Samayah Barker Lee’s mother, Rheanna Lee, will never forget. 17-year-old Samayah Barker-Lee was killed in a hit-and-run, and authorities are still without a suspect responsible for the homicide.
Earlier that day, 17-year-old Samayah had asked Rheanna’s permission to attend a friend’s party with her boyfriend, Benjamin Jimenez.
Soon, the victim called her mother to let her know they were returning home. The couple, with the victim’s cousin Adashia Smith and her friend Camden Painter, crashed into another vehicle that had run the red light at the intersection of McKinney Avenue and Lafayette Street in Fort Wayne, reported Project: Cold Case. Though Smith was driving, she tried to save everyone, while the hit-and-run driver fled the scene and abandoned the vehicle before police officers arrived on the scene.
Samayah died from her injuries, while Jimenez lost his memory about the fatal crash after he recovered a month later from a coma. Smith and Painter were also injured and survived the ordeal.
Though the perpetrators fled, and investigators claimed they retrieved DNA from the vehicle, they still don’t have a suspect or a person of interest, which has brought frustration to the victim’s family.
“For the longest time they (Fort Wayne police) told us they were waiting on the DNA. How do you not know who did this when they left the car there?,” said Rheanna Lee, according to wane.com.
The victim’s family described Samayah as a hard-working and dedicated individual who enjoyed being outdoors.
If anyone has information that could help solve this cold case, please call the Fort Wayne Police Department at (260)427-1222. To maintain anonymity and possibly be eligible for a reward, contact Crime Stoppers Fort Wayne Crime Stoppers at (260)436-7867.
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