CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- Mary Cox Richardson's friends want others to learn a lesson from her death. Watch where you walk. They remembered the sweet, soft-spoken woman during a vigil near her former apartment Saturday night, and said they were shocked to learn how she died early Monday morning.  Police said she was hit by a taxi van while walking on the on-ramp to I-277 at Church Street, and the driver left the scene.

The owner of the cab company said the driver thought he hit a pole.

Richardson's friends said the driver should have stopped anyway, to see if someone needed help.

But they also say Richardson made a bad decision to walk on the side of a major highway, and they want others to learn from her mistake.

"We just wanted to draw attention to... just the dangers of walking on the interstate," said longtime friend and vigil organizer Judy Williams.  "That's just not a good thing."

Capt. Charles Bannerman of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Dept. said not only is the practice dangerous, it's illegal in all 50 states.  The ban includes on-ramps, like the one where Richardson was killed.

Williams said it's a smart law.

"That's just not something that should be done," said Williams. "I would hope that people would take a lesson from this and not even try to walk on the interstate."