Police looking for hit-and-run driver

Woman OK after being struck by car in Village townhouse subdivision.

By: Lea Kahn
   Roselynn Wiley’s routine walk with her dog, George, could have taken a deadly turn last week when she was struck by a hit-and-run driver on Shirley Lane, in the Village townhouse subdivision.
   Ms. Wiley, 40, said she had stepped off the curb onto Shirley Lane at around 9:25 p.m. Aug. 20 when she heard the sound of a car driving down the street in her direction. She said she didn’t give it a second thought.
   "I remember hearing a car approaching," said Ms. Wiley, of Carver Place. "I heard something, and then I felt pain and I was on the ground. I never thought, ‘Hey, I’ll get run over.’"
   Two girls who were driving past the scene quickly stopped when they saw Ms. Wiley on the ground, she said. They offered to help her and called 911. Ms. Wiley said she had no idea how long she would have lain there if they had not stopped to help.
   The car that struck Ms. Wiley left the scene quickly, she said. A neighbor who witnessed the incident told police she believes the car was a white Toyota, possibly a Matrix model.
   Whether or not that was the car, the person whose car struck her left "in a big hurry," leaving the townhouse community neighborhood, according to eyewitness accounts.
   After the accident, Ms. Wiley said she felt intense pain and "the rest is a fog."
   "The back of my leg was bruised," she said.
   Ms. Wiley was taken to the emergency room at Capital Health System’s Fuld Campus, where she was treated for her injuries and released that night. Her dog was uninjured.
   While the pain may be subsiding, Ms. Wiley said she is still upset about the incident.
   "The speed limit is 15 miles per hour, but no one obeys it," she said. "There are a ton of children that live in this community."
   Hit-and-run accidents involving pedestrians are relatively uncommon in Lawrence, police Lt. Thomas Ritter said. About six incidents are reported every year, and about half are solved, he said.
   Witness accounts are the key to solving hit-and-run accidents, the lieutenant said. Witnesses may provide a description of the car or a partial license plate number which can lead police to the driver, he said.
   Anyone with information on the Aug. 20 hit-and-run on Shirley Lane is urged to call the Lawrence Township Police Department at (609) 896-1111.