Family remembers woman killed in Pott. County hit-and-run, suspect still at large

The family of a woman killed in a hit-and-run crash in Pottawatomie County is waiting for answers. The 50-year-old grandmother died Friday night after being struck on State Highway 3E in Earlsboro, east of Shawnee.

“It’s just horrible what happened to her and I wish the perpetrator would have come forward,” said LaCinda Cobb, Tanya Couteau’s daughter.

Instead, Cobb says whoever hit and killed her mother, Tanya Couteau, is still out there.

“It was just hard for all of us,” Cobb said. “My mother was truly a great person, she had a heart of gold and would give you the shirt off her if you were ever in need.”

Cobb said her mother was walking to a friend’s house Friday night. According to Oklahoma Highway Patrol investigators, Couteau was involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash on SH 3E and Jack Hall Drive sometime between 10:30 p.m. and 12:30 a.m. that evening. Investigators say she died at the scene, her injuries consistent with a collision with a car. Cobb said her mother’s body was found more than 12 hours later.

“I don’t know how no one could see her from the street when she was so close to the road,” she said.

The family said investigators had found the car believed to be involved, but the person behind the wheel had not yet been identified.

“I just wish they would have stepped forward instead of running away,” Cobb said. “If you hit someone, stop and call 911. Maybe she could have gotten help that night instead of laying there until 3 in the afternoon.”

Now they hope to raise enough money for the funeral through a GoFundMe account.

“It’s hard,” Cobb said. “I’m only 23 and it’s hard having to plan your own mother’s funeral.”

If you have any information about this case, call the Central Regional Communications Center at (405) 425-2323.