Indianapolis hit-and-run victim Sally Peppers
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.
4429. Root, NY. Nov. 20. Woman injured when struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
4430. Miami, Fla. Nov. 22. Pedestrian fatally struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
4431. Amarillo, Texas. Nov. 21. 10-year-old boy injured when struck by a white Dodge Durango which fled the scene.
4432. Indianapolis, Ind. Nov. 22. 14-year-old girl critically injured when struck by a black four-door sedan which fled the scene.
4433. Hartford, Ct. Nov. 25. 34-year-old man fatally struck by a silver or gray, 2003 to 2006 Infiniti G35, which fled the scene.
4434. Rockford, Ill. Nov. 24. 23-year-old man suffers life-threatening injuries when struck by a dark mid-sized vehicle which fled the scene.
4435-36. St. Paul, Minn. Nov. 24. 22-year-old man and 22-year-old woman injured struck by a vehicle which fled the scene but was later found.
4437. Chico, Cal. Nov. 22. 56-year-old man injured when struck by a white or light compact vehicle which fled the scene.
4438. Chattanooga, Tenn. Nov. 24. 44-year-old man fatally struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
4439. Lexington, Ky. Nov. 24. Woman suffers life-threatening injuries struck by a blue Mustang which fled the scene.
4440-41. Wichita, Kans. Nov. 23. 38- and 39-year-old men injured when struck by a four-door 2001 Saab 9-5, dark gray or black, which fled the scene.
4442. Boynton Beach, Fla. Nov. 25. 68-year-old woman injured when struck by a silver Ford Escape SUV which fled the scene.
4443. Fontana, Cal. Nov. 24. 42-year-old man fatally struck by a pickup truck which fled the scene.
4444. Salt Lake City, Utah. Nov. 25. 65-year-old man badly injured when struck and dragged 75 feet by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
4445. Lewisville, Texas. Nov. 19. 48-year-old man critically injured when struck by a white Honda which fled the scene.
4446. Dallas, Texas. Nov. 23. 24-year-old man fatally struck by a white Lexus SUV which fled the scene.
4447. Long Beach, Cal. Nov. 22. 43-year-old woman badly injured when struck by a Nissan Altima which fled the scene.
4448. Wheeling, WV. Nov. 26. 34-year-old man fatally struck by a Ford pickup truck which fled the scene.
4449. Lanham, Md. Nov. 22. Unidentified man fatally struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
4450-51. Milwaukee, Wisc. Nov. 27. 18-month-old girl killed and 26-year-old woman suffers non-life-threatening injuries when struck by a rental truck which fled the scene but was found shortly thereafter.
4452-53. Knoxville, Tenn. Thanksgiving Day. Two pedestrians injured when struck by a gray or light blue Jaguar sports vehicle which fled the scene.
4454. New Britain, Ct. Thanksgiving Day. 60-year-old man suffers head injuries when struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
4455. NYC, NY. Nov. 27. 54-year-old man on bicycle fatally struck by a white commercial truck which fled the scene.
4456. Oakland, Cal. Nov. 24. Man injured when struck by a Porsche Cayenne which fled the scene.
4457. Long Beach, Cal. Thanksgiving Day. 15-year-old boy on bicycle injured when struck by a silver or light compact vehicle which fled the scene.
4458. Winona, Minn. Nov. 27. 75-year-old woman injured when struck by a van or minivan which fled the scene.
Related stories:
Utah hit-and-run victim Gavyn Barnett
And I quote (I)…
WEST VALLEY CITY — A West Valley woman has been arrested in connection with a fatal hit-and-run accident that claimed the life of a 2-year-old boy in a stroller in June.
And I quote (II)…
EWING — A Ewing woman admitted yesterday that she misled police at the scene of a fatal hit-and-run accident in 2011, in exchange for a plea deal that will spare her from serving jail time.
Marie Jean, 54, was on her way to work on Parkside Avenue in Ewing on at 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2011, when she struck a man who was laying in the roadway. Jean’s car was the second vehicle to strike Carl Wilkins, 54, of Trenton, who died at the scene.
And I quote (III)…
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A 29-year-old Custer man is in jail on $500,000 bail after police said he critically injured a Ferndale woman in a hit-and-run.
Bellingham police said Emma Briceno, 25, a mother of three young children, was badly injured at the intersection of East Chestnut Street and Railroad Avenue.
They said Cory Mezo was driving with a “total indifference” to human life, doing donuts at another intersection before he ran a red light and hit a car just before 2 a.m.
Police say he careened into Briceno as she walked in a marked crosswalk. She flew into the windshield and over the vehicle.
And I quote (IV)…
SPRINGFIELD — A 25-year-old Springfield man who allegedly shaved his head in an attempt to change his appearance and avoid arrest was detained today and charged with multiple offenses, including driving under the influence of intoxicants and hit and run, police said.
And I quote (V)…
Authorities believe Shannon R. Smith, 31, struck the bicyclist while driving 85 mph through an intersection. But, police are investigating extenuating circumstances.
Smith was arrested in Buffalo two days later, court documents say, and she had dyed her hair in an effort to conceal her identity. She told police she was driving so fast because she was being chased by her ex-boyfriend.
That ex-boyfriend was later identified as 24-year-old Blake Basten.
And I quote (VI)…
The American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety estimates that roughly 11 percent of all police-reported crashes involve a hit-and-run, and, shockingly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has concluded that approximately 18 percent — or nearly one in five — pedestrian fatalities are caused by hit-and-run drivers.
And I quote (VII)…
The hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a newly engaged student on Milwaukee’s east side in August was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release.
And I quote (VIII)…
A man accused of running over two teen girls – including one pregnant with his child – and seriously injuring them both, surrendered to police, officials said Wednesday.
Miguel Angel Jimenez, 18, was taken into custody in connection with the hit-and-run, police said.
And I quote (IX)…
Brickhouse, of the 500 block of Cherokee Street, said he did not dispute the charges but did not immediately accept responsibility in court. He claimed he had no memory of the crash.
“Somebody got hit and I was in the area,” Brickhouse said.
Koury refused the plea under those circumstances, saying he could not legally accept it if Brickhouse denied responsibility. He spelled out the allegations against Brickhouse and asked him if admitted to them. Brickhouse said he would, but he shook his head as he spoke.
And I quote (X)…
A San Pedro man who grabbed his 4-year-old daughter from a crosswalk moments before a car hit them both is hoping someone comes forward to help police find the driver, who sped away without stopping.
Armando Melchor, 29, and his daughter, Alisson, were thrown onto the car’s hood as they walked their dog late Friday just blocks from their home.
The girl hit her head and her father was hit in the back. They both were treated at a hospital, but fortunately their injuries were not serious. The driver, Melchor said, chose not to stop and find out how they were.
“I am angry. I can’t do anything. I’m frustrated,” he said. “He doesn’t care. I don’t know. I want to catch him.”
And I quote (XI)…
WESTFIELD — Allison says Queena is her kindred spirit. Queena says she and Allison talk about everything.
“She’s like a sister to me,” Queena says.
This Friday Queena and Allison are having a belated Thanksgiving dinner at Allison’s mother’s Westfield home.
The conversation will likely cover how Allison is doing at Oberlin College, how Queena’s job as a nurse at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck is going, and undoubtedly, how the two met more than a year ago, when Queena found Allison on the side of the road, bleeding from a massive head wound.
On July 17, 2012, Allison Lowenstein was jogging in Harriman State Park in New York. She was 21, working as a counselor at Camp Homeward Bound, a camp for homeless children, and ran every day on Seven Lakes Drive before the homeless children the camp serves arrived.
She was training hard for her college cross-country team, running up to eight miles a day. Nothing stood out about the run. But she never finished it.
“I don’t remember seeing a car coming at me or seeing anything or experiencing anything, because either everything was happening so fast that I got hit, and then right away my mind was unable to form memories about it and actually experience it, or the blow wiped out any memory of those couple of minutes and the couple of weeks that followed,” Allison told NJ.com.
And I quote (XII)…
An Ogdensburg man has been extradited from Arizona and charged in connection with the August hit-and-run death of a 19-year-old Lancaster man.
State police arrested Devin B. Ferguson-Brenno, 26, of 209 Gilbert St., on Tuesday and charged him with second-degree vehicular manslaughter, leaving an accident resulting in death and tampering with physical evidence, all felony charges; second-degree obstruction of governmental administration and driving while intoxicated, both misdemeanors; and multiple traffic violations.
Caught, convicted, court appearance or car-on-car in … Attleboro, Mass.; Wilmington, Del.; Charlotte, NC; Rochester, Maine; Charleston, SC; Monroe Twp., Pa.; Huntsville, Ala.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Atlanta, Ga.; Allentown, Pa.; Burbank, Cal.; Amarillo, Texas; Mastic Beach, NY; St. Paul, Minn.; Harris County, Texas; Phoenix, Az.; Roanoke, Va.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Clifton, NJ; Arlington, Va.; Warren, Ohio; Port Hueneme, Cal.; Urbandale, Iowa.
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.)