AUSTELL, Ga. — A faded memorial for Kennade Patterson still sits at the intersection of Old Alabama and Maxham Road in Austell.
The 10-year-old girl was hit and killed after she snuck out of the house with her siblings in 2017.
Ryan Nickerson, the driver who hit her, stayed on the scene and was not charged, but he said he still thinks of Kennade every day.
11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross was there when Nickerson met Kennade's mom, Tiana Patterson, for the first time, face-to-face.
The first thing the two of them did was to hug each other, right near the spot where Kennade was killed nearly 3 years ago.
The two of them held hands for most of the interview, and both of them said they want Kennade's life to mean something.
"Compassion, love - a man," Tiana said, describing Ryan. "A man bound to make it to heaven."
When Tiana looked at Ryan, she said she doesn't see the man who hit her daughter. She sees a friend.
"I never wanted him to feel like we were angry or upset," she said. "He was just a man going to work to provide for his family. And I thank God that you stopped. And to live with that. I can't even imagine his pain, honestly."
Tiana and Ryan each said they have thought of each other a lot these past three years. They started talking to each other online a year after Kennade's death.
"Sometimes I'll think of him. And I'll go on Messenger, and he will have messaged me. It's the weirdest thing," she said.
Even though they've talked for years, this was the first time they ever met face-to-face.
"To meet her now, and be able to just hug her and talk and actually just see her. Just seeing her was the best part," explained Ryan.
Ryan was driving to work early in the morning when he came over the hill on Maxham Road and struck Kennade.
After it happened, he called 911 and stayed on the scene. While he was not charged, and police said he did nothing wrong, the accident is never far from his mind.
"I know that when I see my kids, I still see her," he said. "And that's hard to explain, but I still think about her."
Tiana and Ryan are teaming up now to try and make changes on the road where Kennade was killed.
11Alive is still waiting to learn crash statistics for the intersection of Old Alabama Road and Maxham Road, but Kennade's is not the only memorial there.
"This tragedy happened to both of us. Why? We'll never know," Tiana said. "I feel like, if together, we can save one life in the midst of losing another, what a great gift. For us to be able to stand and give it together."
Tiana said that she has tried to contact the Department of Transportation since 2018 about making a change. But, it's complicated because the intersection straddles the Cobb-Douglas county line.
"I want it to be a simple intersection. Right now, it's so complicated," she said. "Things are going in different directions, people don't know what to do. And if you miss one beat, an accident can happen."
11Alive reached out to both counties. A spokesman for Douglas County said they do plan to make a change. They said they are in the planning phase of a construction project that will add sidewalks and a crosswalk to the intersection to make it safer for pedestrians.
Ryan said making that change will honor the 10-year-old's life.
"She's always going to be there," he said. "And I want her there in the best way I can think of her, instead of the worst way I can think of her."
Working together, they both hope Kennade's death can help save a life - a legacy that the honor student with the bright smile would be proud of.
"I will tell him, 'I know you never had the opportunity to meet Kennade here on earth, but my prayer is that you will meet her in Heaven'," Tiana said.
She asked Ryan to join her family at Kennade's celebration of life this year, on what would have been her birthday.
Officials from the Douglas County Department of Transportation said they are working with Cobb County to make the changes at the intersection. They said they are likely to be finished with the work there by the latter part of 2020.
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