Hit & run victim was a woman with value, talents
Mycah Silvers-Fox displays a black and white photograph showing Colleen Silvers during her high school years. Silvers was struck and killed by a passing motorist as she walked along Hwy 602 last week. A witness to the accident came forward and provided police with information on the vehicle's license plate and they have traced it back to a 70-year old woman from Tohatchi. [photo by Jeff Jones / Independent]

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — The family of Colleen Silvers hopes to bring a face and story to their sister and mother who was killed last week during a hit and run collision along New Mexico Highway 602.

“I think we become desensitized without knowing there is a life story behind that person,” Rhonda Mallahan, Silvers’ sister, said. “ ... We want to give a voice to my sister.”
She isn’t a mere statistic, but a caring mother who loved to both read and create.

“She had a sense of humor,” Mallahan said. “She liked to tease.”

Her hobbies included pottery and making blankets. She also attended some college and enjoyed an 18-year career with Gallup Indian Medical Center as a lab technician.

“She spoke and wrote well,” Mallahan said. “ ... She did have a life and she was well loved.”

The close-knit family, which includes Silvers’ three sisters, brother and five children, is pleased authorities solved the mystery surrounding her sudden death. But at the same time, they expressed concern that they learned of the case’s outcome through an article in The Independent.

“It would seem that they would contact the family,” Mallahan said of city detectives.

Late last week, police identified a 70-year-old woman who admitted to striking Silvers with her vehicle as she drove home from GIMC after receiving intravenous drugs.

A witness saw the woman’s vehicle swerve and stir up dust, so he or she took down the license plate in case the event materialized into something serious. When the witness learned of the fatal collision, he or she contacted police and the case was solved.

Silvers’ family is concerned about a few of the circumstances surrounding her death.

The first circumstance being that the 70-year-old woman drove herself from GIMC after she received treatment that involved intravenous drugs.

They question whether she was in adequate condition to drive.

The family also wonders why it took nearly two hours for someone to report Silvers’ body to police, even though she lay lifeless on the shoulder of the highway. They are, however, thankful to the nurse who found Silvers and immediately contacted emergency personnel.

“I think it’s kind of inhuman to not stop,” Myka Silvers-Fox said of motorists who may have ignored her mother lying on the roadway. “If somebody needs help, we should help.”

While they hope justice is served in the case, Silvers’ family said they understand that the woman who struck their sister and daughter may be experiencing emotional pain for her involvement in the crash.

Overall, they are thankful to detectives who worked around the clock to investigate the hit and run, .

“We thank them very much,” Mary Platero, Silvers’ sister, said.