KANSAS CITY, Mo. — An investigation is underway after a local kitchen cook was killed in a hit-and-run over the weekend in east Kansas City, Missouri.
Joseph Jackson was killed late Saturday night while riding his bike on 37th headed towards Cleveland and police say the driver didn’t stop.
Jackson’s family wants people to now he was someone who used his talents and passion to help others. Acts of service they’re already seeing being returned as they now plan a funeral they were never expecting.
Joe Jack, as his family calls him, worked as a cook for the Kansas St. Mary’s Food Kitchen.
“He would love seeing smiles on people’s faces when they got the meat of the day because there were a lot of homeless that would come up there and eat,” Jackson’s nephew Tyrone Bell said.
It’s those videos of Jackson cooking that his family is now holding onto, just to hear his voice again.
Police say the driver that hit Jackson didn’t stop at the stop sign and rode through the intersection, but after hitting Jackson, the driver took off.
“He said one of the brakes didn’t work on the bike, I am assuming that he probably tried to stop but he couldn’t,” Jackson’s sister Michell Hughes said.
“Just had no luck with the brakes and it was a rainy night, wet ground, who knows, we’ll never know,” Bell added.
It’s the most recent tragedy for this family. Hughes said it’s the second funeral for a sibling she’ll have to plan within the last few years.
“I just want to have a proper burial,” Hughes said.
As the family grapples with another loss, they want people to know how much Joe Jack cared for the community and that whoever hit him — will come forward.
Until then, they have each other to hold onto.
“The last words I said to him were I love you and he said I love you sis and I said be safe,” Hughes said.
The only description police have of the vehicle was that it was a dark color. The family said people in the neighborhood have shared that drivers go through there fast and they’re hoping the city will look at making it safer.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to raise money for the funeral.
