The mother of a 19-year-old who was killed in a hit and run last July is hopeful a $2,500 reward will bring her some closure.
"Not knowing is horrible. Was it intentional?" asked Cheryl Breighner. "It could be the person standing next to me in Walmart and I wouldn't know."
Breighner's life changed forever on July 15, 2017. She was awakened by a police officer at her door with the worse news any parent can imagine. The little boy she loved was gone.
Her son Cordell had been hit by a car off Old Knoxville Highway near Owenby Drive. A woman passing by spotted the body and called for help just after midnight. Whoever hit the young man had taken off, and never came forward.
This week, Gov. Bill Haslam's office announced the reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever hit Breighner and then drove away.
The vehicle that hit him likely had obvious body and windshield damage.
Haslam, in a release, said it's important to "help bring to justice whoever is responsible for this crime."
Breighner is very grateful to the governor and the investigators on the case for making the reward happen.
"I feel like it will be better when I know what happened," she said, as she stood beside a roadside memorial for her son with the words 'Justice for Cordell' written on it. "It's really going to change my life because I think it will make somebody talk."
Breighner remembers her son as always happy, always smiling. He loved to make people laugh.
She doesn't want anyone else to forget him, either. Especially the person responsible for his death.
If you have information about the case, you can call Detective Preston Parrish of the Sevierville Police Department at 865-453-5507.
Sevier County District Attorney General James Dunn asked the governor to make the reward available in hopes of spurring tips.