TULSA -- Four weeks have passed since Michael Reid died while jogging, and police are still looking for the driver who struck and killed the well-known school administrator.
Reid ran several days a week with his wife, Linda, where the trail on Sheridan crosses the Creek Turnpike. She, however, has not been able to run past the spot since the crash that took her husband's life.
"That's how Mike lived," Linda said. "If you see a challenge, you grab it, and I think it would really disappoint him if I didn't get back out of the trail."
Linda, the site principal at Jenks East Intermediate School, is unfortunately getting used to a life without her husband of 16 years. Since his death earlier this month, she said the support of friends, family members, strangers and former students has certainly helped her cope.
"Millions of people go through this sort of loss in silence, and we have had so much of an outpouring of care and concern. I've never felt alone, so he would be so humbled," Linda said. "He has done a lot of things, but the sort of things that Michael did weren't the kind that would be on the front page of a newspaper or necessarily reflected in a bank account. This would mean a lot to him that people cared that much for him."
Dozens of people have left their running shoes at the crash site in memory of her husband. City crews plan to remove all the mementos later this week, and Linda is working with City Councilor Phil Lakin to make sure the shoes are donated to local schools or charities.
"Whether it's one of the Tulsa inner-city schools or some school program, that's great," she said. "I love that, and Mike would love that."
City leaders said safety improvements are planned for the busy area where Reid was hit, but they're not scheduled to begin until 2019. Linda said she would like to flashing lights added near the crossings so that runners and bikers are better protected.
"It's not the city's fault," she said. "Inherent risk of running on roads, unfortunately, this is one of them, but, if that good comes out of it, that would be amazing."
Police are still working to identify the driver who struck her husband, but, surprisingly, catching that person is not among her top concerns right now.
"I really truly have a heart for whoever that is because I can't imagine carrying that pain," she said. "It's different from ours, but that's got to be really, really hard."
"Honestly them coming forth isn't going to change my future, and it's not going to bring Michael back," she added. "But I think it might positively change their future because that's just not a guilt that you want to carry."
Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 918-596-COPS.
