INDIANAPOLIS — This Mother's Day weekend is one of hope for one mom on a journey for justice to find the hit-and-run driver who was caught on camera hitting and killing her son.
Jonathon Macklin was killed on Mother's Day in 2015 when his motorcycle collided with an SUV that turned in front of him in front of Esquire Plaza on Pendleton Pike in Lawrence. Six years later, his family is pleading with the public to take a good look at the surveillance video that captured the crash.
Even after all this time, they're holding out hope that someone can help.
Julianna Sliger found the strength to talk about losing her only son this Mother's Day weekend. But there have been times when the pain was just too much for her to speak about what happened to Macklin, especially when it came to the driver of the SUV.
"I don't want you in jail. I just want to know what happened," she said of the driver.
In 2015, security cameras recorded video of a white SUV colliding with her son on his motorcycle. The driver of the SUV never stopped to help. Within minutes, emergency personnel was on the scene, including an EMT in his personal car who stopped to help.
"It was Mother's Day," said Sliger. "I talked to my son about 8:30, he wished me well, he bought me flowers, we had a FaceTime. I told him I love him. I never heard from him again."
Her 25-year-old son, known as "JMac," had recently graduated college. Macklin's bigger-than-life smile became his trademark, something everyone talked about.
"That brings me joy, because every person that encountered his presence, I asked what he was like and everybody says the same thing consistently," said Sliger.
That same big happy smile is in all of the photos of JMac taken with his twin sister Jamika Macklin. The two of them were not just twins, but also best friends. Macklin would do anything to make his twin sister happy. Now Jamika celebrates their birthday without him present, but it's the days leading up to it that gets rough for her. She hopes even after years of remaining silent that the driver is willing to come forward and be accountable.
"It's really heart-wrenching," said Jamika Macklin, "Yes, you took my brother. You took my mom's only son, but you took him from so many people."
JMac had only been in Indianapolis for about nine months when he was killed. Still, he connected with so many other motorcycle riders and made friends with people who fell in love with him.
"I just want to know what happened. Did you not see him? Did he not see you?" Sliger said.
Since the deadly hit-and-run, family and friends have held memorial rides in JMac's honor.
Anyone with information about the SUV that collided with Macklin can call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 317-262-TIPS. All calls to the tip line are anonymous and 100% confidential. If your tip leads to an arrest in the case, you will receive up to a $1,000 reward.