Erin Vance's boyfriend said he almost saved her from a fatal hit-and-run in west Ottawa Sunday morning.
The 26-year-old died while walking on Bayview Drive in Constance Bay around 2:35 a.m. after celebrating St. Patrick's Day.
"He came around that corner, I swear to God at well over 100 miles an hour - he was flying," said Justin Hammond. "I pushed her and I didn't push her far enough, I guess."
An Ottawa Fire Services engineer lives next to the scene of the crash and said he found a vehicle that had crashed into a tree, with Vance found nearby without vital signs.
"We started CPR on her immediately, it didn't look very positive," said Duncan McNaughton. "I ran and called 911, went back and continued CPR until Ottawa fire, paramedics and police showed up."
Vance was a mother of five-year-old twins who lived in Dunrobin, about 35 kilometres west of downtown Ottawa.
The horse lover was the barn manager at Quarry Park Equestrian Facility in her hometown.
"You look in the dictionary and you try and define good person or what good people are, and you would see Erin," said Beth Ross, the facility's manager. "That's what she is, one of the most easy-going roll with the punches I've ever met."
Ross said they'd be putting together a fundraiser for her and her family, while trying to adjust to life without her.
"There isn't one animal that has come to this property, not one client, not one horse, not one dog that has been on this property that doesn't benefit from her easygoingness," she said.
Police said they're looking for the driver of the vehicle, who left the scene on foot.
The identity of the suspect isn't being released yet by police, but they said they do have someone in mind.
Anyone with information can call Ottawa police collision investigator Const. Craig Bowman at 613-236-1222 extension 2322.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee
