JONES COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) – Whitney Benson spoke exclusively with WITN Friday after her 13-year-old autistic daughter was hit and killed by a dump truck around 4:30 a.m. on April 14th.
Benson says the night of April 13th was like any other. Her daughter Maddie went to bed at 10 p.m., and then Whitney woke up to her daughter playing music at midnight. At 4 a.m., she noticed Maddie was not in the house.
Benson says she called 911 and started to search for her daughter on her own. Maddie’s body was found on 10 Mile Fork Road around 7 a.m., after being hit by a dump truck.
“I’m burying my child. This is something I would not wish on my worst enemy,” Benson said.
She says her daughter leaving home had never happened.
“This was not normal. Her normal thing was to go to school. She loved her teacher, Ms. Davis, and she loved spending time with her brother, her family, me, her mom, her bonus mom, and her dad. My child loved life,” Benson said.
Benson is thankful for the Jones County Sheriff’s Office, but says she still needs answers from Highway Patrol, and she doesn’t know the exact place her daughter died on 10 Mile Fork Road.
“I’m still waiting on a report. I’ve been told that there are layers,” Benson said.
Family friend Marissa Jones, who was also known as Maddie’s bonus mom, says Maddie was full of love.
“Very joyous person, one thing she loved was her lollipops and Poppy the troll. She knew every troll there was,” Marissa Jones said.
The driver of the dump truck said that at the time, he thought he had hit an animal. He and a witness searched around but did not find anything.
The driver returned to the scene around 7 a.m. and found Maddie’s body. Nobody has been charged at this time.
A GoFundMe has been set up to cover funeral expenses.
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