WESTLAKE, Ohio — A 24-year-old woman was arrested for a string of hit-skips in Westlake and Bay Village involving pedestrians walking their dogs or checking their mail, according to Westlake police.
On Saturday, April 4, around 9:41 p.m., officers responded to Caroline Circle after receiving a report that a 22-year-old woman had been struck by a car while checking her mail.
Officers learned on the scene that the driver of the vehicle drove over the curb and onto the sidewalk before striking the woman, who lost consciousness after being hit. The woman was able to walk back to her home and call for help, but the vehicle did not stop, police said.
The woman was transported to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
Police searched for the vehicle involved but were unable to locate it.
Three days later, on April 7 around 9:15 p.m., police received a call from a pedestrian who said she was walking a dog with her friend and they had been struck by a vehicle.
Officers responded to Cahoon Road and found a 25-year-old pedestrian and a 21-year-old pedestrian who had both sustained serious injuries from the hit-skip, police said.
The vehicle involved was described as a black sedan and as officers and the Westlake Fire Department attended to the two injured pedestrians, additional officers spotted a vehicle matching the description.
Police stopped the black sedan near Dover Center Road and Dominion Drive and noticed damage on the vehicle. The 24-year-old woman, from Cleveland, told police the damage was a result of her striking a deer on a previous night.
Officers detained the woman while investigators collected evidence and towed the car, police said.
The next day, the woman confessed to detectives that she had not only struck the three victims on April 4 and April 7 in Westlake but also had struck a man in his 50s while he was walking his dog in Bay Village on April 1.
RELATED: Man walking his dog struck by hit-and-run driver
The woman is currently in custody while additional evidence and statement are gathered, police said.
Police said they expect felony charges to be filed on Friday.
All of the dogs involved in the hit-skips appear to be uninjured, police said.
