Woman fleeing hit and run crashes into car dealership lot, causes $100K in damage
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on April 5, 2017 11:12 AM
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Jim Crouch
A woman fleeing a hit and run this morning drove off of U.S. 70 East and crashed into several cars in the lot of Frema Motors. Police estimate the damage caused at $100,000.
Full Size
Jim Crouch
Full Size
Jim Crouch
Full Size
Jim Crouch
Full Size
Jim Crouch
A woman fleeing the scene of a hit and run this morning drove off of U.S. 70 East onto Sunburst Drive and crashed into several cars in the lot of Frema Motors causing an estimated $100,000 in damage.
Police said Jasmine Darinesha Best, 26, of 1507 Catalpa St., is charged with aggressive driving, failure to maintain lane control, failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision and leaving the scene of an accident.
Capt. Paige Learnard said the initial hit and run happened at the intersection of West Grantham Street and North Carolina Street.
Police said Best had an ongoing dispute with the woman whose car she hit, and the two knew each other.
After the collision, the woman began pursuing Best when she fled in an effort to get her license plate number, Learnard said.
Then, Best got on U.S. 70 East at the West Grantham Street exit in her 2012 Toyota Corolla and began driving at a high rate of speed, police said.
Officers said the woman who was trying to get Best's license plate number gave up on following her shortly after she got on U.S. 70 East.
Learnard said Best got off the highway at the small road that connects to Sunburst Drive in front of Frema Motors, but was driving too fast to handle the turn and crashed into the car lot.
A witness to the crash told police Best was going upward of 65 miles per hour.
Best struck a GMC Sierra, a Mazda Miata and a Mercedes Benz C300, causing an estimated $100,000 worth of damage.
Skid marks stretched from where Best got off the highway all the way up to the point of impact with the three vehicles.
Police confirmed the woman who tried to get Best's license plate information after she reportedly fled the scene of the hit and run would not be charged.