'She was a beautiful soul': Durham woman searching for answers nearly one-year after daughter's fatal hit-and-run

The family of a Durham woman killed by a hit-and-run driver is still searching for answers nearly a year after the accident.

45-year-old Tysiea Gurley was hit by a driver who did not stop while she was walking home from work on Liberty Street in February.

Gurley died from her injuries.

“She was a beautiful soul,” her mother, Anita Gurley, said. “She could sing [and] dance, [she] could rap, you name it. Anybody who met her loved her. That’s who she was.”

Anita Gurley says her grief is even more difficult without any updates on the case.

The Durham Police Department said they’ve made no progress in the case nor have been able to identify the make or model of the car. It’s one of three hit-and-run cases in 2023 that remain unsolved.

Gurley said she remains hopeful the person who hit her daughter will turn themselves in.

“I don’t hate you…but do yourself a favor, because I know you’re not sleeping. How could you?” she asked.

As she plans a vigil for her daughter on February 24 on Liberty Street, Anita Gurley is praying for both closure and justice.

“Just to know that I can move on in life because I’m kind of stuck right now. My days are not as good as they used to be,” she said. “I say to the community, if you knew something, seen something, or heard something, please say something. Please.”

Durham police have asked anyone with information to contact Investigator Rose with the Durham Police Department’s Traffic and Crash Team at 919-475-4149 or call CrimeStoppers at 919-683-1200.