A beloved Virginia magazine editor was killed Monday evening in a Richmond hit-and-run crash allegedly caused by a suspect with a significant criminal record.
Hope Cartwright, a 23-year-old assistant editor at Virginia Living magazine, was crossing the street when a driver took a left turn, hitting Cartwright, and then fleeing the scene, according to Washingtonian. The suspect charged with felony hit-and-run, Latesha Coleman, has a history of drug-selling and possession convictions, a petit larceny conviction, and many failures to appear in court since 2002, according to Richmond-based CBS affiliate WTVR-TV.
Police tracked down Coleman at her house using Flock surveillance cameras, according to Richmond-based NBC affiliate WWBT. The prosecution said investigators noticed the smell of alcohol when interviewing Coleman, WTVR-TV reported.
The suspect was driving on a suspended license, according to the outlet.
Judge Victoria Pearson of the Richmond General District Court on Wednesday, denied Coleman bond after a Wednesday court appearance, per WTVR-TV. Prosecutors cited the 41-year-old suspect’s criminal history as reason to deny Coleman bond.
The Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office argued Cartwright lawfully crossed the street, appeared to look both ways and crossed when the light was green, citing a video obtained by investigators, WWBT reported.
The Office presented Pearson with neighborhood surveillance video showing that Cartwright was completely visible in broad daylight while wearing a white hat, the outlet reported. The prosecutors said the surveillance footage shows Coleman briefly slow down after hitting Cartwright and proceeded to drive away after, according to WTVR-TV.
Coleman’s defense stated the suspect had thought she hit a curb or median — which the prosecution countered by pointing out there was none in the area, WWBT reported.
Virginia Living dedicated its March/April issue to Cartwright, according to the Washingtonian.
“She was a singular talent,” the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Madeline Mayhood told the outlet. “Everything she touched was superior.”
“We’re still reeling from this, and to be honest, I can’t really concentrate very well,” Mayhood told WWBT. “We’re just taking it one minute at a time, and we’ll figure out our way through it.”
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