MADISON, Wis. -- When Jim Beyer didn't come home from his run Sunday, his wife went looking for him. The Middleton mother ended up having to tell police the man who had just been hit and killed by a hit-and-run driver was her husband.

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The crash has left a family, a neighborhood and Madison based company reeling, reports News 3's Joel DeSpain.

Friends, family and co-workers describe Beyer as larger than life -- the kind of guy you'd love to have as a colleague, a neighbor, a husband, or a father.

Just north of Middleton on Pheasant Branch Road, Dane County Sgt. Gordy Disch has been piecing together the tragedy. That's where the 40-year-old jogger was senselessly snuffed out under the warm sun of a beautiful autumn day.

"The suspect driver, by his own admission, said he was under the influence of a drug, unknown to us at this time what the drug was, and that's pending toxicology tests at the crime lab," Disch said.

Driver Dustin Ripp had been out celebrating his 19th birthday. Investigators say after Ripp hit Beyer, he took off and lost control in a field.

Two other joggers saw the whole thing, News 3 reported.

"One of them had the presence of mind to go after and apprehend, and detain the suspect driver until law enforcement could get on the scene," Disch said.

Meanwhile, Jim's wife Jodi was wondering why he failed to return home. She began to retrace his running route, only to come upon the squad cars and realize 3-year-old Tate and 8-year-old Samantha no longer had a father.

Famous Footwear is now without a prized employee.

"We are grieving today at the tragic loss of Jim Beyer, " a company spokesperson said. "He was a wonderful, caring person. He was a brilliant creative director, and he was a fabulous husband and father. People here loved him."

When Bonnie Stamm of Verona heard about the hit-and-run, she said it made her sick. Her daughter, Aimee Kubler (pictured with husband Toby), was killed by a hit-and-run driver on a rural road while jogging as well. Investigators said Beyer, like Kubler, was struck from behind. Police emphasize, however, that in both cases impaired drivers were the ones responsible for the senseless losses.

"It makes me sick to my stomach," she said. "I feel like I'm back on the day I heard about Aimee, and no family should have to go through this. No young man should be taken away from his family."

Prosecutors say the man who hit Kubler, Nathan Leopold, was drunk. Stamm is now lobbying to toughen hit-and-run laws.

"All my sympathy in the whole world goes to the Beyer family," Stamm said. "I wish I could do something. It's a tragedy that shouldn't ever happen. Nothing's going to make it better for a long time."

Ripp remains in jail on a tentative charge of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.

Beyer's co-workers at Famous Footwear are in the process of establishing an educational fund for his children.

Contributions can be sent to:

The Jim Beyer Memorial Fund c/o Famous Footwear
7010 Mineral Point Road
Madison, WI 53717-1701