Victim ID'd, driver comes forward in Inver Grove Heights hit-and-run crash
Updated: 4:15 p.m. | Posted: 7:20 a.m.
Inver Grove Heights police say the driver who struck and killed a woman on Saturday evening and then left the scene has turned herself in.
Meanwhile, the victim was identified as Haimanot Gebremedhin, 55; she had four children and two grandchildren, had been married for 38 years and was a resident of the Twin Cities suburb for 25 years.
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Her daughter-in-law, Krystle Aschenaki, said Gebremedhin was "kind and compassionate." Gebremedhin worked as a housekeeper and was active in her church.
Aschenaki said her mother-in-law had wanted to enjoy the nice evening on Saturday by walking home after working out with her husband at a nearby community center.
A vehicle hit and killed Gebremedhin on 80th Street, east of Blaine Avenue, just before 6 p.m. Saturday. The crash happened just east of U.S. Highway 52, near Inver Hills Community College.
A passerby who found Gebremedhin flagged down a police officer; lifesaving efforts at the scene were not successful.
Authorities said the driver, a 30-year-old Inver Grove Heights woman, went to the police department at about 12:45 p.m. Sunday. She "stated she saw a social media post this morning and decided to turn herself in and tell her version of events," police said.
The woman "was booked and released to her attorney while the investigation continues. Upon conclusion of the investigation the case will be forwarded to the Dakota County Attorney's office for a charging decision," police said.
Saturday's crash follows two other fatal vehicle-pedestrian crashes in the Twin Cities metro area in the previous two days.
On Thursday, two pedestrians died after being struck by a truck on Larpenteur Avenue in Roseville.
On Friday, one woman died and another was injured when they were struck by a vehicle at the corner of McKnight Road and Burns Avenue in St. Paul.
In both of those crashes, police said the drivers stopped at the scene and are cooperating with investigators.