Young wife, mother killed in Jacksonville crash

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Police are looking for the driver who caused a crash that killed a young mother in Jacksonville.

Sari Marcus, 19, leaves behind an 18-month-old daughter.

Surveillance pictures show the car reportedly involved in the crash. Investigators say the driver cut Marcus off, forcing her into a concrete pole.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the driver never stopped. Action News Jax reporter Ben Becker spoke to friends who said Marcus’s baby -- and another person -- were in the car.

A roadside memorial with balloons, teddy bears and a cross sits at the pole that Marcus crashed into. Friends said Marcus got the car just six days before the fatal crash on Thursday, Dec. 7.

Marcus is being remembered as a beloved mother, wife and friend.

"She was very beautiful, bright and vibrant," said Missy Bennett, who was Marcus’s co-worker at Palms Fish Camp.

Bennett said for a while, Marcus would take Uber to get to work.

"She would work doubles. She wanted to make money to get her a vehicle," Bennett said.

Last Thursday, Marcus was driving her Isuzu Rodeo down Cedar Point Road with her 18-month-old daughter and friend when an oncoming vehicle entered into her lane, forcing her off the road and into the concrete pole.

A broken windshield is still on the ground at the crash site. A surveillance picture shows the vehicle believed to have run her off the road.

"She just got the car Friday, and it happened on Thursday," Bennett said.

Marcus’s friend was OK and her daughter was released from the hospital with some scrapes and bruises.

Co-workers have started a GoFundMe account to help the family. In the meantime, Bennett has a message for whoever was driving the other vehicle

"It was an accident, I'm sure they didn’t mean to do it, but just to give peace to the family and her loved ones, just come forward and say, ‘Hey, I wasn't thinking, it happened," Bennett said.

There will be a memorial service for Marcus at North Jacksonville Baptist Church on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Cox Media Group