Mom of 2 Dies After Being Hit by Car Following Separate Crash: 'We Just Want Answers,' Cousin Says

Brian Brant
·2 min read

"We are so heartbroken and distraught by her death," Camille Jadé tells PEOPLE

<p>Camille Jadé</p> Stephanie Johnson and her kids.

Camille Jadé

Stephanie Johnson and her kids.

A Chicago mother of two was killed early Tuesday when she was struck by a car after being involved in a separate crash on an expressway.

The victim was involved in a minor crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway just before 2:30 a.m. local time in the southbound lanes at 18th Street, the Illinois State Police said in a release obtained by PEOPLE.

The crash happened when the victim, identified by family as Stephanie N. Johnson, exited her car and was run over by another car, per the agency.

With no arrests made at this time, Johnson's family is asking for help finding the alleged hit-and-run driver as state police continue to investigate.

"We are so heartbroken and distraught by her death," Camille Jadé, the victim's cousin, tells PEOPLE.

"We just want answers and we’re asking the city of Chicago if they know or saw the accident to please help our family in this devastating time," she adds.

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Johnson's mother, also named Stephanie Johnson, told ABC affiliate WLS that she had spoken to her daughter just three hours before the deadly crash.

"I didn't want to believe it," the mother added. "It just took my breath."

She added the crash has left a "big hole" in her heart.

Jadé says that her cousin was the "family princess" who strived to be a role model for the city by giving back "with many community service projects throughout the year."

But she says Stephanie was a beautiful dancer who knew how to have fun, calling her "the light of every party."

Now there is pain knowing her children will grow up in a new reality. "They're going to miss their mom," Johnson told WLS.

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Read the original article on People.