Woman Struck In Hopkins Hit-And-Run Dies
HOPKINS, Minn. (WCCO) -- A Hopkins husband is asking the driver who hit his wife in a crosswalk this week to come forward.
Dolores "Jeanne" Stafford, 75, died from her injuries Thursday.
It was around six Wednesday morning when someone struck her on Main Street and 17th Avenue in Hopkins and didn't stop.
Police believe a driver in a dark-colored SUV is responsible. But they're also looking for other drivers who may have answers.
"All the way there I was just saying 'no, no, no.' And then I was hoping maybe it's not bad," said Jeanne Stafford's husband Bob.
Bob Stafford got the call just minutes after it happened on a rainy and dark Wednesday morning. Bob's wife of 33 years lay severely injured in a crosswalk on a street you can see from the house Jeanne grew up in and they now shared.
"She said, 'It's really bad Bobby, it's really bad,'" he said.
Jeanne told her husband she had the green light when a dark colored SUV hit her and drove off. Her condition quickly deteriorated. Doctors at Hennepin County Medical Center were unable to save her.
"I didn't have time to tell her how much I loved her," Bob Stafford said.
Hopkins police are now asking the drivers of two vehicles to call them -- a Dodge minivan and another vehicle with a body style similar to a Toyota Matrix or Honda Fit. They believe they may know more about the SUV that left the scene.
"I've gotten asked quite a bit, 'Do you think the person knew that they hit Jeanne?' and my answer to that is absolutely, yes," said Sgt. Mike Glassberg.
Jeanne was about to catch a bus to her weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in downtown Minneapolis that morning. She'd been sober for more than 40 years but kept going to inspire others.
A woman described as sweet and gentle, gone as family and friends wait to find out why.
"If whoever did this talked to Bob they might realize what they did and the impact it's having on a lot of us," neighbor Lee Syndergaard said.
Hopkins police say there have been five crashes at the same intersection in the last two years.
Just last year, Jeanne's husband says his wife got the city to extend the light for walkers because she thought it was changing too soon.
There is a $6,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest in this case. Call the Hopkins Police Department if you have any information.
