A 73-year-old woman who was a pillar of her community died after a driver hit her in Bladensburg, Maryland, last month and kept going.
Jemilat Fatuga's son feared the case would never be solved. But a suspect has now been charged.
Fatuga was hit by a car as she crossed Annapolis Road. She had been trying to catch a bus to get to work at 7 a.m. Her son wonders if she would have survived if the driver had stopped to help her.
"He could have waited. Something could have been done, maybe like calling 911," Olatunje Liasu said. "She might still be alive."
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Police arrested Kevin Scott and accused him of negligent manslaughter and other offenses. Detectives worked for weeks to find the car and figure out who was behind the wheel.
Fatuga was hit just across the street from her apartment. She was crossing to get to the Metrobus stop and was not in a crosswalk, according to charging documents. Scott allegedly went around a bus and other cars that were stopped and hit Fatuga in the middle turning lane. She had been headed to her job as a home health aide.
"He took the life of a precious mother, grandmother, a sister, a aunt and a member of our community," Chief Tyrone Collington said.
Charging documents lay out the extensive detective work used to track down the striking car, which was a rental. Police used surveillance and traffic camera videos, as well as tag readers, to find the car and Scott.
Cellphone records allegedly place him in the area at the time of the crash. The documents allege that Scott was speeding 47 mph in a 30 mph zone when he hit Fatuga. He allegedly took the car to his job in D.C. after the crash and told multiple people he had struck a deer.
"This was a senseless act," the police chief said.
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City, county and state leaders are discussing ways to make Annapolis Road safer by adding crosswalks and lighting, and possibly lowering the speed limit. A digital sign was put up after Fatuga's death to remind drivers to slow down.
A small cross was placed near the crash site in memory of a woman described as a good, courageous person who worked so she could help relatives in Nigeria.
