JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This past weekend would have marked Drew Kohn’s 31st birthday. Instead of celebrating with him, his family is marking the milestone remembering his life and legacy while searching for answers in his death.

“Although for us he’s missing in the picture, we still have his love, his joy, and his spirit to, you know, carry us through,” Madison Jackson, Drew’s younger sister, said. “He was just like the embodiment of someone walking around with joy.”

Just over a year ago, Kohn was out for an early morning walk on Jacksonville’s Westside when tragedy struck. He was hit by a pickup truck on Collins Road near Schindler Drive around 5:30 a.m. on Friday, July 26, 2024. The driver stopped and called 911, but investigators say evidence suggests another car may have hit Drew before the pickup truck and drove away. That car has never been found.

“Drew deserves justice,” Yolanda Osborne Kohn, his mother, said. “We just are hoping that if someone hears something, sees something, they say something. It’s not too late. We’re still looking, we’ll never stop looking, but Drew’s legacy is that this is justice without malice.”

Detectives have released surveillance images of two vehicles, a dark-colored sedan and a dark-colored SUV, that they say may have information. They believe the car involved likely had significant front-end damage.

While they search for answers, they hold on tightly to their memories of Kohn. Seven years and one week before his death, he was involved in another accident, a life-altering motorcycle crash. It left him with a traumatic brain injury and multiple injuries he fought to overcome in a journey First Coast News followed closely.

“I mean like a walking miracle, like 244 days in a coma and the doctor’s telling me like listen lady, this is not possible,” Yolanda Osborne Kohn said. “And then for God to heal the body from within. He’s a miracle within a miracle within a miracle.” 

“He truly overcame a lot and lived a life of a warrior, so to just know that he overcame all of that…I really truly feel like that’s a true testament of faith,” Jackson said.

Kohn’s family is holding on to hope that anyone with information about what happened to him in July 2024 will come forward.

“If you saw something, say something like a body shop, or auto shop, any mechanics, any pounds, anywhere,” Jackson said.

“We’re still looking because we want to do our due diligence as anyone would want to do. Our faith is strong. We are a family of faith. For whatever reason, God has given us the peace to be able to sustain,” Kohn said. “We are not coming for someone because we are angry and we want revenge. It’s the right thing to do. We are not here to throw the book at anybody.”

They also want to raise awareness about the number of unsolved hit-and-runs in Jacksonville.

“Drew’s not the only one,” Kohn said. “There are multiple, if not hundreds, that are unsolved. We just want to be there for those that are in a similar situation and want closure. We want people not to lose faith in catching the culprits.”  

If you have information about this case or any unsolved hit-and-run in Jacksonville, contact First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. You can remain anonymous, and you could be eligible for a cash reward.