Homeless man ID’d as victim of hit-and-run; suspect believed to be driving ’90s blue SUV
Law enforcement officials are still searching for a suspect vehicle in the hit-and-run that resulted in the death of a homeless man who had been walking alongside Highway 84, just west of Laurel.
Harold Tucker, 75, was pronounced dead at the scene early Monday after being struck that morning or late Sunday night. His body was sent to the Mississippi Crime Lab. A side mirror from a 1990s model Ford Explorer or Mercury Mountaineer that was at the scene indicate that it was one of those makes or models of SUV that hit Tucker.
David McGowin, with Ellisville First United Methodist Church, began feeding the homeless at Cotton Mill Park nearly three years ago after reading a Leader-Call article about them. He began coming every Tuesday with pizza, which gave him the moniker “The Pizza Guy.” McGowin posted to social media about Tucker’s death and received more than 20,000 views on the post, he said.
“I was just making a post for the church, and I had no idea it would have this kind of impact,” he said.
McGowin would often see Tucker at Cotton Mill Park, which is where the homeless man stayed. Tucker was a Vietnam War veteran who served in the military for four years. Tucker lived beneath one of the shelters at the park and he would always want pizza when McGowin came out.
Teena Keyes, who volunteers at the park, said it broke her heart that Tucker was killed.
“I had been so scared that this was going to happen all of these years,” Keyes said. “Mr. Harold a long time ago had a good job and would not go out of the house without his clothes being starched and ironed.”
Not much is known about Tucker’s earlier life, other than the military service he talked about with local homeless advocates. Family members who were contacted declined to comment or provide any information about him.
Keyes started coming out to Cotton Mill Park about five years ago after discovering the small homeless community there. She began to help, and when it got cold, she raised money to help get them in hotels.
“We tried to get him in the VA home, we tried to get him an apartment, but he chose to live at Cotton Mill,” McGowin said. “That was home.”
McGowin said he hopes to do a memorial service for Tucker and help with any funeral costs and expenses.
“These people are all like family to each other,” McGowin said. “Whenever I would see him and ask how he was doing, he would say, ‘No complaints.’”
A passerby found Tucker’s body on the side of the highway on Monday morning. The Jones County Sheriff’s Department, Laurel Police Department, EMServ Ambulance and Coroner Burl Hall responded first, but the Mississippi Highway Patrol is in charge of the case.
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