Easter hit-and-run victim Tauave Seiaute
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.
5059. Savannah, Ga. April 21. 60-year-old woman fatally struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
5060. Lakewood, Wash. Easter. 19-year-old man fatally struck by a white or tan Ford Windstar-type vehicle which fled the scene.
5061. Norfolk, Va. April 21. Man injured when struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
5062. Lawton, Okla. April 22. 57-year-old man fatally struck by a pickup truck which fled the scene.
5063. Ridley Park, Pa. April 21. 18-year-old man injured when struck by a pickup truck which fled the scene.
5064. Oxnard, Cal. April 22. Pedestrian injured when struck by a white Toyota Corolla which fled the scene.
5065. Putnam County, Fla. April 22. 3-year-old boy fatally struck by a vehicle which fled the scene, but later was located.
5066. Los Angeles, Cal. April 23. Man in his 30s fatally struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
5067. San Carlos, Cal. April 24. 52-year-old man fatally struck by an unidentified vehicle which fled the scene.
5068. Georgetown, Ky. April 24. 27-year-old man injured when struck by a black Toyota which fled the scene.
Christopher Brooks in critical condition after being hit by a pickup truck that fled the scene. #watch @CBSPhilly 5pm pic.twitter.com/tGyEz6JZ4q
— Syma Chowdhry (@SymaChowdhry) April 22, 2014
Related stories:
And I quote (I)…
TALLAHASSEE — With what one lawmaker called a “mass epidemic” of hit-and-run crashes, the Florida House on Tuesday voted 118-0 to give final approval to a bill that would increase penalties for drivers who leave the scenes of serious accidents.
The bill (SB 102), which also received unanimous support in the Senate and now goes to Gov. Rick Scott, is named after Aaron Cohen, a 36-year-old bicyclist who was killed in a 2012 hit-and-run accident on the Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami-Dade County.
The bill, in part, creates a four-year minimum mandatory sentence for drivers who leave the scenes of accidents involving deaths. Under current law, which does not include such a minimum-mandatory requirement, drivers sometimes can have incentives to leave accident scenes, according to supporters of the bill.
“This bill is definitely going to make Florida a better, safer place to live,” said Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton.
And I quote (II)…
STAMFORD — A Stamford judge set a $250,000 court appearance bond for a woman with 51 criminal convictions, who allegedly drove away from the scene of an accident after striking and killing the 70-year-old mother of a decorated Stamford police officer in the evening of Easter Sunday.
And I quote (III)…
“She was nice. She didn’t deserve this. Whoever did this, you need to turn yourself in. Do the right thing,” Lula Beck, neighbor, said. “He could have stayed and made sure she was alight. Instead he chose to be stupid,” Beck said.
And I quote (IV)…
A Center Moriches Middle School teacher who was arrested after allegedly driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol in a hit-and-run crash was arraigned Tuesday.
And I quote (V)…
DENVER (CBS4) – Police thought they’d solved the case but now the suspect in a fatal hit-and-run has apparently fled again.
And I quote (VI)…
ADAMS COUNTY – The passenger in a fatal hit-and-run in Thornton is facing manslaughter charges after police say she pried the victim’s fingers from the moving vehicle he was holding onto, causing him to fall.
Cynthia Marie Vigil was the passenger in a van involved in a hit-and-run death that killed 29-year-old Joshua Stewart Saturday. The hit-and-run occurred at the 9600 block of Race Street in Thornton.
The driver of the van, Dannel Bond Kimble, has also been charged with manslaughter, as well as additional charges for leaving the scene of a fatal accident and reckless vehicular homicide.
According to an arrest affidavit, Stewart was a passenger in a van driven by Kimble when an argument ensued and Stewart tried to get out of the van.
That is when police said Vigil pried Stewart’s fingers loose from the door of the van, causing him to lose his grip. Stewart was then run over by the van, and later a second vehicle.
And I quote (VII)…
Los Angeles police are expected to shut down sections of road between Los Feliz and Griffith Park on Sunday morning as waves of cyclists take to the streets to raise awareness about hit-and-runs.
The event, Finish the Ride, was created after local resident Damian Kevitt, 37, was hit by a van and dragged nearly a quarter-mile onto the 5 Freeway near the L.A. Zoo last February.
Last year, Los Angeles logged more than 21,000 hit-and-run crimes, including more than 1,200 injuries and 41 deaths, according to Los Angeles police statistics. In Kevitt’s incident, the driver got away and Kevitt broke 20 bones and lost the lower half of his right leg.
“The only way I can bring closure to what happened to me is by taking the bad that occurred and turning it into something good,” Kevitt said in a statement announcing Finish the Ride.
And I quote (VIII)…
The man gave a last minute letter to the court Tuesday morning saying that he would take it all back if he could. He was exposed to 16 years in prison but will serve far less.
Maurice Fields wanted to accept responsibility according to his attorney. So he took the offer by prosecutors and was sentenced Tuesday for gross vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run and child endangerment.
Field’s attorney Roberto Dulce said, “There is nothing that shows remorse more than when you enter an early plea, which is what happened here.”
And I quote (IX)…
Carol Kent is overwhelmed by how many hit-and-runs Jacksonville police are investigating, but also homicides in general. So that’s why she’s turning to the Internet.
“He has a 3-year-old daughter, Aleena, who feels that when she gets a little older, she’s going to get a ladder and go up to heaven to bring her daddy back home,” Kent said.
Kent said life without her son has been difficult, made harder by knowing no one has been arrested in the case.
“To all those who’ve lost lives, the fight doesn’t just stop when they take their last breath. The fight begins,” Kent said.
For Kent, the fight is about putting a plan to action. By organizing a donation page, she hopes to raise money for a private investigator in the case.
“As time goes on, this may turn into a cold case, and that’s what I’m trying to avoid,” Kent said.
And I quote (X)…
But on Sunday, 70-year-old Margarita Gonzalez, a mother of seven, was killed by a hit-and-run driver as she was leaving her nephew’s home on Woodland Avenue around 7 p.m. Gonzalez was carrying a dish of food from her Easter dinner when she stepped off the curb next to her nephew’s home. A westbound car stopped for her to cross, as an eastbound vehicle did.
And I quote (XI)…
In 2012, Kimberly Encinia was walking to church when a car hit her. Corpus Christi police haven’t tracked down who left her to die on the side of the road.
Today the city broke ground on a plan to expand the lanes and build new sidewalks.
Before the ceremony, Mary Encinia was presented with a plaque in honor of her daughter. She says she’s happy others who walk and ride their bikes in the area will now be safe.
Caught, convicted, court appearance or car-on-car in … Rock County, Ill.; Rochester, NY; Collingdale, Pa.; Brooklyn, NY; Worcester, Mass.; Newton, NJ; Bowling Green, Mo.; Laguna Beach, Cal.; Harrisburg, Pa.; Clarksville, Tenn.; Lexington, Ky.; Chicago, Ill.; Westbrook, Maine; Hempstead, NY; Kokomo, Ind.
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.)