Fatal hit-and-run victim Erika Hughes and her daughter Gabriella (credit: Hughes Family via CBS 2)
3309. Jacksonville, Fla. Jan. 3. 46-year-old man struck and killed by a white van which fled the scene.
3310-12. Westminster, Cal. Jan. 4. 70-year-old woman and 66- and 74-year-old men injured when struck by a red four-door Hyundai which fled the scene.
3313. Tallahassee, Fla. Jan. 6. Pedestrian struck by a gold SUV, possibly a Toyota Four Runner, which fled the scene.
3314. Eureka, Cal. Jan. 3. 10-year-old boy on bike injured when struck by a vehicle which was ditched and discovered but the driver fled the scene.
3315. San Diego, Cal. Jan. 5. 80-year-old critically injured when struck by a brown van which fled the scene.
3316. Milford, Ohio. Jan. 3. 12-year-old girl hospitalized after being struck by a grey SUV which fled the scene.
Related stories:
And I quote (I)…
LENOIR, N.C. — Lenoir police said they’ve arrested four people involved in a hit-and-run last weekend.
Miguel Cruz Cepeda, Heather Dawn Alvarez, Carlos Tapia Alvarez and Jessica Campos-Ballesteros all face several charges for a hit-and-run that injured a man on Sunday.
And I quote (II)…
Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis tonight identified the “person of interest” in a hit-and-run accident that killed a 5-year-old on Dec. 21 as Tom Letteer.
“I fully believe that he was the person who was involved in the accident,” Salavantis said, adding that Letteer has been cooperating with investigators.
And I quote (III)…
Since there was no way to prove a cover-up, nor that Mimms was drunk, on drugs or speeding at the time of the hit-and-run, he was charged with a non-violent felony – leaving the scene of an accident without reporting it. Instead of two and a third to seven years in prison, the judge gave Mimms one to four.
Hughes’ family is outraged by the lenient sentence.
“It’s very unfair. A year and a quarter? Traffic violations get more than that. It’s not right,” Tina Hughes, the victim’s aunt, told CBS 2′s Jennifer McLogan.
“I cant begin to describe, first the pain of the loss, and then the anger I feel right now,” added Kevin Hughes, Erika’s uncle.
The victim’s father, Dennis Hughes, said he believes Mimms should not have been allowed to plead guilty.
And I quote (IV)…
GREENVILLE, N.C. -The family of Austin Baeza took to the streets Saturday, in hopes of getting information about the hit and run accident that killed their son.
More than a dozen family members joined the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office to canvass neighborhoods.
They knocked on doors, handed out flier, and talked to people around the spot where Baeza was killed.
Baeza was hit and killed by a car along highway 33 on Aug. 18th, 2012
Austin’s sister and brother say they just want answers.
“I won’t’ be mad at whoever, if they come forward I will not be mad. I will be said of course. We just want to know who did this and why? Because, the not knowing is what hurts the most,” said Nicolas Baeza.
And I quote (V)…
CORPUS CHRISTI — Resting in a hospital bed with a broken leg, a cracked pelvis and too many cuts and bruises to count, Amanda Arriola has just one question: why?The 23-year-old Ray High School graduate isn’t self-pitying, rather she’s thankful to be alive. But she wants to know why the person who hit her with a car in the first hours of 2013 left her in the road to die.
“I want to know why they didn’t help me,” Arriola said through tears. “I would do anything for anybody. For somebody not to care about my life, that’s not a person; they don’t have a heart. I would just ask them why they couldn’t stop and help me; I want to know why they didn’t save me.”
Arriola said she recognizes divine intervention and the handiwork of God — one who has bigger plans for her and couldn’t take her so soon. She said she knows someone in heaven was looking out for her, and luckily, some friends on earth were, too.
And I quote (VI)…
Citing an L.A. Weekly probe that unveiled a hit-and-run crisis in Los Angeles, with drivers fleeing 48 percent of all crashes, Councilman Joe Buscaino asked the L.A. City Council to require LAPD to explain how it plans to crack down.
The Weekly investigation by Simone Wilson found that 20,000 hit-and-runs occur in L.A. annually, an epidemic level. Nationwide, 11 percent of crashes are hit-and-runs. In L.A., the rate is nearly five times that. L.A.’s epidemic is ignored by LAPD brass. Chief Charlie Beck keeps no meaningful data and does not know how many people are maimed. Bicycle activist Alex Thompson was first to report that 4,000 of the 20,000 annual hit-and-runs are felonies, involving an injury or death.
And I quote (VII)…
ST. LOUIS — A 21-year-old Hillsdale man has been charged in a fatal hit-and-run from Aug. 25 on Natural Bridge Avenue.
According to charges filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, Arron Larron Smith was traveling over 55 miles per hour and had a blood alcohol level of 0.169 when he struck 55-year-old Durand Stewart, of St. Louis, with his red Pontiac Grand Prix.
And I quote (VIII)…
A driver rear-ended a school bus full of kids Friday morning and fled the scene, according to police in Camden County.
About three dozen students from Gloucester County Tech were on the bus. Two students on the bus were checked out for minor injuries after the hit-and-run, Clementon Police said.
Caught, convicted, court appearance or car-on-car in … Atlanta, Ga.; Weymouth, Mass.; Ida, Mich.; Thomasville, NC.
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.)