Woman, 22, Charged With Hit-And-Run In Cambridge Accident
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A Cambridge woman has been charged for leaving the scene of a fatal accident following an Isanti County car crash in November 2015.
Bailey Anne Hanson, 22, has been charged with one count of leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury or death.
According to the criminal complaint, around 10 p.m. on Nov. 2 a man was driving a Saturn eastbound on Highway 95 near Moon Lake Drive, with his mother in the front seat. As he drove, he crossed the center line and side-swiped a Dodge Caravan.
The Dodge Caravan came to rest on the shoulder of the road, while the Saturn continued driving eastbound, but now in the westbound traffic lane. The Saturn eventually came to rest, facing oncoming traffic.
The driver's mother exited the car to check on the damage, standing in the oncoming traffic lane where there were no street lights and a 55 mph speed limit.
Around the same time, Hanson was leaving work and began driving westbound on Highway 95.
As she was driving she approached the Saturn. Hanson slowed down and swerved to avoid hitting the car, but in her attempts hit the woman. The woman was thrown 60 feet. She died on the scene.
The criminal complaint states that Hanson stopped her car, ran back to the crash, found the woman and called 911. Another person had stopped to administer CPR to the victim.
The complaint states that on the call, Hanson reported that she hit something and the victim was hurt and had no heartbeat. When asked later in the call if she was involved, she said she was "just driving by."
After making the 911 call, Hanson left the scene without providing any information to police.
According to the criminal complaint, Hanson later called the police and told them she had ran back to the scene because she had hit something but wasn't sure what.
Hanson agreed that she had left the scene of the fatality, but said it was because someone told her to leave if she "wasn't involved." However, when she noticed her driver's side view mirror, headlight and windshield was damaged, she called police.
The complaint states the Minnesota State Patrol investigated and performed a crash reconstruction. This found that Hanson did not cause the collision that killed the woman, but rather the victim's death was due to the Saturn stopping in the lane of traffic and not right after the crash with the Dodge.
The driver of the Saturn was later found to have alcohol, oxycodone and morphine in his system.
If found guilty, Hanson faces up to three years in prison, $5,000 in fines or both.
