ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – St. Petersburg Police say 61-year-old Victoria Morley was just two blocks from home when a vehicle hit and killed her Friday night.
It happened just after 11 p.m. in the Historic Uptown neighborhood. Police believe Morley was walking back to the assisted living facility where she lived.Â
“A couple of family members that we’re dealing with now are obviously very upset about the situation and looking to get the closure that they can as soon as possible,” Sergeant Michael Schade of SPPD’s Traffic Section said.
Morley was crossing Dartmoor Street North at Joyce Terrace North. The driver left the scene. Another driver saw Morley and called 911 around 11:30 p.m. Morley later died from her injuries.
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“The intersection isn’t really very well-marked as far as crosswalks or anything like that. It’s just a remote neighborhood with an L intersection,” Sgt. Schade said. “Because of that area, we’re expecting that it was a fairly low-speed crash, so we don’t expect there to be a lot of damage to the suspect’s vehicle. However, we still believe the driver knew this happened, which probably means family or friends know that it happened as well, so anybody that is in the public that can help us out with this, please call our tip line or our non-emergency line or an online tip,” he said.
Schade says they want to talk to the driver of a dark-colored sedan seen on camera in the area around the time of the crash.
“We’re not saying that that’s the actual vehicle, but we would like to talk to that person,” he said.
Investigators haven’t identified the make or model yet.
“There is no sidewalk at all,” Wanda Jackson, who lives in the neighborhood, said. “So, that’s why we usually go in the middle of the street because it’s quiet and no one’s out, but I won’t do it anymore because we almost got hit,” she said.
Courtesy: St Pete Police Department
Jackson said she was almost hit about a month ago.
“I was in the middle of the street with my dog and thank God they just stopped and they didn’t hit me, but we met right face to face and they were just rolling there. You should stop here. There’s a stop sign. They don’t stop,” Jackson said.
Schade says over the past few weeks, there has been an uptick in hit and runs that involve significant injury or death. He said there has been four to five in Pinellas County in the last month.Â
“Right now, the only charges that we would have on a person would be leaving the scene of a crash causing death. Obviously, if the person had stayed on scene and we could have had a conversation, it could have not been their fault at all. It’s possible that they had no fault in the crash and panicked or got scared because of the situation. If they had stayed and were able to talk to our investigators, we could be having a totally different conversation right now,” said Schade.
“Stay on scene and talk to investigators because you’re only making your situation worse when you do this. We’re going to find you,” he said.
It’s an active investigation. If anyone has any information about the driver or the crash, contact the St. Petersburg Police Dept. at 727-893-7780, or text SPPD plus your tip to TIP411. You can remain anonymous.Â
The Source: This story was written with information provided by the St. Petersburg Police Department.Â