KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A game of pool sparked an eight-year friendship between Erick McDonough and Shawn Burgess.
"He was good competition," Burgess said of his best friend, McDonough.
The two spent many nights at the Doghouse Bar and Grill in Grandview shooting pool, a tradition that was snuffed out when McDonough died from injuries suffered in a hit-and-run crash earlier this week.
"This place just holds so many memories," Burgess said. "We've had our good ones, our bad ones and our great ones. I like to remember the great more than anything else."
The memories are all Burgess has left now.
McDonough was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of 2nd and 3rd streets in Grandview on Saturday. It happened in broad daylight, around 3:20 p.m.
The driver didn't stay at the scene, and the search continues for the person responsible.
"He was going through a little bit of a rough time, so he didn't have a vehicle," Burgess said.
Although he does not know for sure where his friend was headed that afternoon, he believes McDonough was walking to a nearby restaurant to grab lunch.
Burgess described McDonough as the "laughter" in their tight-knit group of friends. He always was willing to help with construction projects, like building a vanity for Burgess' daughters and a playhouse for another friend's child.
McDonough also was described as an amazing son, brother and uncle.
Burgess visited McDonough in the hospital before he died Monday, two days after the crash.
"He knew that we were there by his side, just talking to him and telling him just make it through," Burgess said, "One more time, just open your eyes one more time for us."
With McDonough's death, local authorities already have investigated four deadly pedestrian/vehicle crashes in April.
"It's heartbreaking," BikeWalkKC Policy Coordinator Michael Kelley said.
Kelley said one way to honor victims is by avoiding the word "accident" in describing what happened to them.
"We really want people to use the term crash when describing these incidents, because it is something that is preventable," he said.
As for preventing future tragedies, ending distracted and impaired driving is key, but so too is adding infrastructure to make streets safer for pedestrians.
It's too late for McDonough, whose friends are trying to help police find the driver who killed him. They're collecting money for a reward in donation jars at Doghouse and the Corner Bar in Grandview as well as the Peppermill Lounge South in Kansas City.
Burgess has a message for the driver who hit his friend.
"You're hurting a lot of people, and we will never stop looking." he said. "Ever."
The TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477) had received four tips in the case as of Thursday afternoon.
A Grandview police spokesman said the investigation is ongoing.
