Sara Kaitlin Palmer was killed in an Austin hit-and-run.
An ongoing collection of unsolved hit-and-run cases, with a focus on car/pedestrian incidents, from across the country since Jan. ‘010. If you know something about any of these incidents, or one that I’ve missed, do the right thing and call the police, even anonymously.
3529. Bayonne, NJ. March 9. 22-year-old man struck and killed by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
3530-31. Philadelphia, Pa. March 7. 10-year-old girl injured when struck by a vehicle (with three descriptions posited thus far) which fled the scene. (Update: Suspect surrenders). Her 14-year-old sister was struck in a separate hit-and-run two days later.
3532. Plymouth Twp., Pa. March 9. 54-year-old man critically injured when struck by a vehicle which fled the scene, but police have since located.
3533. Carrollton, Texas. March 11. Unidentified man in his 20s or 30s fatally struck by a 2006 silver or grey Honda Civic which fled the scene.
3534. Oswego, NY. March 12. 18-year-old man injured when struck by a red four-door sedan which fled the scene.
3535-37. St. Petersburg, Fla. March 11. 41-year-old police officer injured and two others uninjured when struck by a silver four-door sedan which fled the scene.
3538. Louisville, Ky. March 12. Pedestrian injured when struck by a Ford F-150 or Ford Ranger which fled the scene.
3539. Kannapolis, NC. Feb. 23. 14-year-old boy struck and killed by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene. Originally classified a suicide, investigators now believe it was a hit-and-run.
3540. Spring Hill, Fla. March 12. Woman fatally struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
3541. North Plainfield, NJ. March 10. 39-year-old man injured when struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
3542. Sherwood, Ark. March 11. 3-year-old Jaylen Diggs dies after being struck by a red SUV or truck which fled the scene.
3543. Crystal Springs, Miss. March 13. 58-year-old bicyclist struck and killed by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
Related stories:
The Oregon legislature gets it…
Oregon drivers who leave the scene of an injury crash would face a three-year license suspension under a bill headed to the Oregon House for a vote on Monday.
Currently, under ORS 811.705, drivers convicted of “failure to perform the duties of a driver to injured persons” face a one-year revocation of their license.
Rep. Chris Garrett, D-Lake Oswego, said the idea for the “hit-and-run bill” came to him after reading an article in The Oregonian last year.
Update: House Bill 2542, the “hit-and-run bill,” passed the House unanimously, 57-0 with three excused, on Monday. It now moves to the Oregon Senate.
And I quote (I)…
HARTFORD— Several people were injured during a hit-and-run crash after the city’s St. Patrick’s Day parade Saturday afternoon, police said.
Geraldo Luciano, 27, of Windsor, was charged with four counts of reckless endangerment, three counts of reckless driving and making an improper U-turn, police said.
And I quote (II)…
DENVER – Aurora teacher Erin Jackson was formally charged Monday after allegedly injuring a Denver teen in a hit-and-run crash last month.
The fifth-grade teacher has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury, according to the Denver District Attorney’s office.
Now free on $25,000 bond, Jackson is due to appear in court Friday to be formally advised of the charge.
And I quote (III)…
OKLAHOMA CITY — Police are searching for a vehicle after it was involved in a hit and run accident in NW OKC Monday afternoon.
Police say the incident began as a non-injury accident between two vehicles. The vehicles pulled into a parking lot near NW 2nd St. and Classen Blvd. to exchange information. One of the drivers attempted to leave the parking lot after the other called police to the scene.
As the suspect was leaving the parking lot in a black Honda hatchback he hit a man attempting to stop him.
And I quote (IV)…
AUSTIN — Friends and family members are preparing to say goodbye to 20-year-old Sara Kaitlin Palmer. Police said Palmer and her boyfriend were run over by a driver and left for dead at 2:30 a.m. on Friday.
“She would bend over backwards to help out anybody,” said Reid Falcon, a close friend.
Palmer’s family posted an obituary online saying she worked a number of jobs including as a cook, a bail bondsman and a security guard. She loved her dog, Maggie as well as cooking, shopping and listening to music.
Palmer’s death is the 17th traffic fatality in Austin this year.
And I quote (V)…
HAVERHILL — Police said they have located the driver involved in a hit-and-run crash yesterday morning in which a 13-year-old girl was injured.
Police said they are not releasing any information about the driver — not the name or even the gender — because the investigation is continuing. But, police said they expect to bring charges.
And I quote (VI)…
MOUNT SHASTA — Just a few weeks ago Gabe Cashman, 24, was looking forward to taking a job as a botanist in Arcata.
But that changed Feb. 24, when he was nearly killed while walking home along McCloud Avenue on the east side of Mount Shasta.
“He’s got a long recovery and multiple injuries he’s recovering from,” said John Cashman, Gabe Cashman’s father.
Police said a Dodge pickup in the early morning hours ran over Gabe Cashman, dragging him for 25 feet. He suffered a fractured back, multiple fractures to his right femur, nine broken ribs, a punctured lung, extensive bruising and scraping to his head and second- and third-degree burns from road rash, John Cashman said. Police have arrested a suspect in the wreck but no charges have been filed.
And I quote (VII)…
HOPEWELL TWP. — Mark Bovenizer, the husband of actress Amy Locane-Bovenizer, today questioned the news value of a report that he allegedly drove onto the lawn of a Hopewell Township home and fled the scene in the hours after his wife was sentenced last month for a drunken driving crash that killed a woman in 2010.
“I just don’t see why this is news,” Bovenizer said in a brief phone interview with The Star-Ledger. “I’m just curious why you guys are so interested in my family.”
And I quote (VIII)…
The man accused of critically injuring a 19-year-old while driving drunk was released from the Athens-Clarke County jail Monday.
William Wilson Heaton, 22, of Bartow County, must now wear an ankle monitor after posting $50,000 bond. Heaton faces several charges for allegedly hitting Emily Bowman on Feb. 16 as she walked with friends, according to police.
Heaton, of Rydal, did not stop after hitting Bowman, but his pickup truck was located at a nearby apartment complex, authorities said. He turned himself into police last week and faces six charges, including felony hit-and-run, DUI and serious injury by motor vehicle.
Bowman, of Woodstock, faced life-threatening injuries, but continues to recover, according to her family and doctors. She underwent emergency brain surgery to have a portion of her skull removed within hours of being hit and remained in a coma until last week.
And I quote (IX)…
A Henrico County judge sentenced Reginald K. Addo to 2½ years in prison Tuesday in the hit-and-run death of a standout Godwin High School graduate who was left for dead on Patterson Avenue in May of last year.
Addo, a part-time cook and father of three who was driving without a license and told police he didn’t realize he hit someone, received an additional four months for the license infraction — his third.
“I’m not asking you all to forgive me but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me,” Addo, 34, said to family members of Kara Rivers-Lengyel, 18. The family members later dismissed Addo’s comments as ineffectual.
Hit-and-run dirtbag Gabrielle Nestande
The mother of Courtney Griffin, killed in 2011 by former Capitol staffer Gabrielle Nestande in a hit-and-run on Exposition Boulevard, filed suit against Nestande today, alleging negligence and seeking more than $1 million in damages.
Griffin’s mother, Laurie, is also suing Clive Bar, where Nestande had been drinking the evening before she hit and killed Griffin, a 30-year-old veterinary technician. The bar knowingly served Nestande after it was clear she was already drunk, “was obviously intoxicated and presented a clear danger to herself and to others,” the suit alleges.
Video of Nestande at the bar and a copy of her tab – she purchased five beers as well as a vodka and diet soda – were used as evidence in her criminal trial last month. According to Nestande, she was not drunk when she hit Griffin, but was instead distracted – she’d looked down briefly at her phone when something hit her car; initially, she said, she thought someone had thrown a rock at her car. N
estande did not investigate further, did not stop, and did not call police, even though her windshield was caved in by the force of the hit. Griffin was tossed into a bush and bled out on the street; her body was not discovered until around 5am the next morning.
And I quote (XI)…
MADISON, AL (WAFF) – A special tribute will take place on Wednesday for a young boy who was killed in a hit and run. The baseball field at Legacy Elementary School will be dedicated to Matthew Dahl.
Dozens of students and teachers at Legacy Elementary School will participate in the ceremony. A sign with Matthew’s name on it will be unveiled during the event.
Caught, convicted, court appearance or car-on-car in … New Castle, Del.; Paw Paw, Mich.; Lake Mary, Fla.; Belfast, Maine; York, Pa.; Bristol, Ct.; Fargo, ND; Dothan, Ala.; Manatee, Fla.; Loami, Ill.
View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com.
More hit-and-run stories, including every volume of Hit-and-Run America (in reverse order), are accessible from this linked page. (The full Volume-by-Volume list will appear sporadically from now on.)