John Jefferson
Inset: Sarah Wright (Flagler County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Wright hit a 16-year-old boy with her truck and fled the scene, cops say (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office).
A Florida woman is behind bars after allegedly hitting a 16-year-old boy crossing the street on a scooter with her pickup truck. After striking the teen with her vehicle, she got out and used some tape and paper to cover her license plate, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office. She then allegedly drove away.
It happened a little before 4 p.m. Thursday near the intersection of Gage Avenue and Noah Street in Deltona. Deputies said the boy was on his scooter headed home from school. As he crossed the street, the woman later identified as 37-year-old Sarah Wright of Palm Coast, hit him with her Chevrolet Silverado, deputies said in a Facebook post.
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After hitting him, she got out and briefly checked on him before hatching a scheme to cover the license tag in an apparent hope to evade authorities. It did not work.
Deputies quickly identified the vehicle “thanks to great witnesses, clear video, and the best technology.” One of the witnesses was able to see a portion of Wright’s license plate before she covered it, according to cops. A neighborhood Ring camera also captured the truck leaving the scene. The victim also gave a vehicle description.
Armed with that information, deputies scoured license plate reader cameras and obtained the tag information “within minutes.”
Hours later, deputies in nearby Flagler County received information about a reckless driver on Interstate 95. The vehicle was weaving in and out of traffic lanes. A deputy spotted the truck, which swerved across three lanes and exited the highway, the affidavit said. Cops stopped the truck after it pulled into a gas station. Wright was reportedly the driver. She was “visibly distraught and upset as she was crying,” deputies wrote.
Cops learned that her license was suspended on Dec. 3 for failing to pay a traffic ticket. Deputies took her to the Flagler County Jail on a driving on a suspended license charge. She has been convicted three other times for driving on a suspended license, records show. Volusia County deputies tacked on a leaving the scene of a crash with injuries charge. She has since posted a $7,000 bond.
The teen she allegedly hit suffered a serious laceration to the back of his head but was able to walk away.
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