Hit And Run Victim's Family Relieved At Suspect's Arrest

The accident that killed Jenna Clayton happened Nov. 5 and every day since then, Clayton's family has been hoping for an arrest.

The 21-year-old's mother, Mary, was relieved when she got the call from police late Tuesday night.

"My first reaction was, 'Thank you, Lord.' I'd been praying it would happen before Christmas," Clayton said.

Tyson Marrow, 22, who was driving on a suspended license, was charged with felony hit-and-run.

Police said that last month, he pulled out of an alley onto Gregson Street and plowed into Clayton.

Witnesses said Marrow got out of the car and simply walked away. Clayton died a few hours later.

Mary Clayton hopes Marrow will spend a long time behind bars.

"He needed to be caught and held accountable for what he's done," she said.

Police arrested Marrow in a downtown neighborhood where they found him hiding out in a house on Queens Street.

Officers tracked him down when someone called Crimestoppers and tipped off police.

Corporal David Addison says after WRAL recently ran a story about Clayton and the search for Marrow, Crimestoppers got a lot of calls.

"I think the story that you profiled touched heartstrings and one of them called in and told us where he was and exactly where to get him," Addison said.

For Clayton's mother, Marrow's arrest offers a sense of relief.

But, it brings little in the way of comfort.

She says the pain is knowing all the promise that Jenna's life held and that she'll never be able to fulfill.

"She was the bright spot in my life -- she completed our family," Clayton said. "It's going to be a daily struggle for the rest of our lives, but faith will get us through."

Clayton was a nurses assistant at Durham Regional. She had planned to get married this month.