PHOENIX — Since Susan’s death last week, the City of Phoenix says it has made several safety changes to the parking garage where the incident occurred.
City officials lowered the speed limit inside the garage to five miles per hour and added new pedestrian crossing signs. The city manager’s office has also formed a parking safety committee to review additional safety measures and employee training moving forward.
Outside of her work at the courthouse, Susan was known for her deep love of Arizona history, especially the history of her hometown of Mesa. She volunteered her time at the Mesa Historical Museum, where colleagues say her passion and personality stood out.
“She was a bundle of energy ,funny, and very compassionate, and she loved history,” said Susan Ricci with the Mesa Historical Museum.
To honor her contributions, the museum has established the Susan Hawkins Memorial Fund, which will support future museum initiatives and exhibits in her memory.
“She left such a legacy, as a judge, as a mom, as a new grandma, wife, friend, and board member,” Ricci said. “I just want people to remember her.”
Anyone interested in supporting the Susan Hawkins Memorial Fund can find more information through the Mesa Historical Museum.
Susan Hawkins, 60, was hit by a truck making a turn inside the parking garage Wednesday shortly after 4:15 p.m., according to police.
Crews transported Hawkins to the hospital for her injuries. She was later pronounced dead.
”I just want to say it was too soon to say goodbye, and I think that’s what she would say to them,” said Mark Hawkins, husband of Susan Hawkins.
Mark Hawkins searched for the right words just a day after he says a Phoenix police officer came to his doorstep and told him his wife of 37 years was killed.
He agreed to speak with ABC15 to share a message with the City of Phoenix staff that he says she loved working with.
”She enjoyed serving as judicial officer in that court; they're wonderful people, and I know Susan took her service there very seriously. It was an honor for her to serve," Mark Hawkins said.
Hawkins was a city court hearing officer whose job included presiding over arraignments and hearings for civil traffic and non-traffic cases.
Mark shared that his wife dedicated her life to public service.
For 15 years, the two had a law firm where they practiced as criminal defenders before she became a hearing officer for the City of Phoenix.
She was a Westwood High grad who played the harp and still did today.
The Phoenix Municipal Court building is across the street from the city employee parking garage, on the corner of Adams Street and 3rd Avenue, where the fatal incident occurred.
The truck that hit Hawkins stayed at the scene, and police do not believe impairment to be a factor.
The crash remains under investigation.
