Behind the scenes: Highway haunt on the ‘mourning’ beat

Two faces looking up from the shoulder of the road caught my attention.

The photograph of the smiling women was about 25 yards from rescue vehicles guarding a body near the median of Ga. 247.

Investigators still didn’t know the identity of the woman who was run over by at least two vehicles.

I had a feeling the picture was a clue and took some video of it, just in case.

They say your life flashes before your eyes in its final seconds.

Later, I’d realize more photographic mementos of Amanda Phaye Burton’s life were scattered across the pavement, but closer to her.

Working the early morning beat for The Telegraph frequently brings me face to face with death.

Sometimes I arrive before the crime scene tape goes up and see what my mind never forgets.

Other times, distance softens the carnage, depending on your perspective.

Burton was hit in the deep darkness right before sunrise.

Only the hint of morning glow was on the horizon when I shot my first video of the scene and uploaded it to our website.

If you looked closely, Burton’s covered body was near the median.

One Facebook poster scolded us in the comments section later: “This is tragic enough for her family without seeing this pic or the video on the macon.com page showing the sheet-covered body still on the road. ... Very very heartless and cold.... Shame shame on you Telegraph”

If I didn’t have a heart that feels the sting of human tragedies, the job would be a lot easier.

But something short of miraculous happened.

An out-of-state commenter opened her grieving heart to reply: “For some odd reason it gives me a reality check that she’s gone for good seeing that ... like I wish I could just hug her one more time or I wish I could just see her one more time.. idk. It’s just so unreal to me all this happening today.. finding everything out.”

Looking closer at the comment, there was something familiar about the Ohio woman’s Facebook profile.

Was it the other woman in the picture? I had to know, so I sent a private message and confirmed what I suspected.

The woman on the right side of the cheek-to-cheek snapshot was her “Mandi.”

Across the miles and numerous messages and later phone calls, I learned that the victim was like a sister to her. Both of them had been down hard roads together.

The loss was devastating for those back home who loved Mandi, who was ready to move farther south.

Investigators gathered up the photographs from the road and sent them with her body to Ohio.

Her sisterly friend built a collage for mourners, but I learned last week that the snapshot of the two of them was missing from the collection.

I went back and combed the edges of the highway, hoping to find the photo that led to my seeing a fuller picture of the tragedy.

It was gone, but I won’t forget it.

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Behind the scenes: Highway haunt on the ‘mourning’ beat."