Winston Salem Times

The death of a 94-year-old parishioner who was struck by two cars earlier this month has left a void in the Baptist Temple of Alamance County that everyone feels, including the pastor.

"I never thought about going to church and Ms. Ethel not being there," Pastor Don Carter told WGHP on Wednesday. This was the first time parishioners gathered on a Wednesday night without her presence in a long time. 

Ethel Murray died on Tuesday, nine days after being struck by two cars near a Burlington intersection after she left the confines of her yard on a walk. The drivers of the two hit-and-run vehicles involved in the April 10 incident at the intersection of Sharpe Road and Lakeside Avenue are still being sought.

Murray had faithfully attended the Baptist Temple for more than 40 years, sitting in the same pew for every service. 

While her passing is devastating enough, congregants and others are equally disturbed that neither of the drivers who were reported to have hit her stopped.

"We're upset about her passing, but we're also deeply upset that somebody would do that to a human being and drive off and leave them in critical condition without offering help," Carter told the news station.

Burlington police are asking anyone with information to come forward to identify the two drivers, both said to be men. Tips can be called in to the Burlington Police Department at (336) 229-3500. 

Witnesses described one car that allegedly struck the elderly woman as a newer-model gray Honda Civic with tinted windows and a loud exhaust system, police said. The other vehicle was described as an older-model black Mitsubishi Lancer with a red spoiler.   

Although Murray's church family will miss her, they are consoled by believing she will be there in spirit, and that she is in a better place.

"When somebody's been coming and sitting in that same seat for 40-plus years, they may not be there in body, but they're there in spirit," the pastor said. "She'll always be with us in spirit."

Congregants just want those responsible to come forward.

"We have within our hearts the hope that we shall see her again," Carter told WGHP. "She will not be in a body that's racked by pain or suffering."