JACKSONVILLE, Ark. – A man is facing charges in connection with the death of a woman who went missing from Jacksonville last year.
The Jacksonville family of 40-year-old Lateshia Patillo said Oct. 13, 2024, changed their lives forever when Patillo went missing.
Court documents state she got a ride from a truck driver named Stevie Bernard Williams in Arkansas that same day. While the semi was traveling at 68 miles per hour, Williams said Patillo jumped out.
“She did not deserve to be done the way she was done. And left on the side of the road and later died,” Patillo’s mother said.
The affidavit states that Williams did not call 911 and continued his route toward New Jersey.
Patillo was found on the shoulder of Interstate 40 in Roane County, Tennessee, and later died in a medical center.
Williams is facing charges of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and criminally negligent homicide. Officials said he will face a grand jury on June 16 in Roane County.
“I just pray justice will prevail in the case,” Patillo’s mother said. “Because she didn’t deserve to die at all. She didn’t deserve this. It’s very devastating.”