UPDATE: Semi-truck with headlight damage sought in fatal I-75 hit-and-run

Investigators say the truck likely has right-side headlight damage and are asking anyone with video from I-75 near mile marker 109 to come forward.

UPDATE (8/20/25): Georgia Department of Public Safety says the suspect vehicle in the June 17 hit-and-run is now believed to be a medium red semi-truck with damage to the right side headlight assembly.

Investigators with the Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team are still reviewing video footage and urge anyone with information or video from I-75 southbound near mile marker 109 around 6 a.m. to call the Troop H Radio Room at (229) 386-3333.

ORIGINAL STORY (8/4/25):

DOOLY COUNTY, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The family of a man killed in a hit-and-run and Macon Regional Crimestoppers are offering a $12,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

The grieving family of Richard Alan “Rad” Dykes is heartbroken and in desperate need of the public’s help to find the person responsible for the incident that claimed his life on June 17. 

Dykes, who had just turned 47 two weeks earlier, was hit while working to repair a guardrail in the emergency lane of I-75 Southbound near mile marker 109. His family, including his wife, children, and mother, are grappling with his loss. 

“I am really, really, really begging for help to try to bring justice because she was talking to me last night and she said, ‘I just wish I knew who it was so I could forgive that person so I could move on,'” said Heather and Lila Dykes, the wife and daughter of Richard.

His daughter, already having endured the loss of her mother at age 14, described the unbearable feelings.

“We’re so similar, and it’s like a part of me is just not there anymore,” she said. “And I really don’t know how to function.”

After receiving the devastating news about her dad, Lila’s first concern was for her younger brother, who is turning 15 on August 5. 

“I just wanted to get to him and let him know that I’m going to be the one hollering loud enough for him not to notice that they’re not there,” Lila said.

The family hopes this tragedy is a reminder of the dangers construction crews face every day on the highway.

“I’m worried about other construction workers that are out there working on the roads,” Heather said. “I’m worried about children that are on the roads, husbands and wives, because the worst feeling in the world is having someone snatched from you.”

Georgia State Patrol says it’s investigating the collision and believes the vehicle involved may have been a large commercial truck. They’re urging anyone who was traveling in that area around 6 a.m. to come forward with information.

If you have any information, call Georgia State Patrol or Macon Regional Crimestoppers.