The man believed to have been behind the wheel of a vehicle that fatally struck a woman and then drove off in Brooklyn Park has had charges filed against him.
According to the Minnesota State Patrol, vehicular homicide charges have been filed against Ryant Tarnue Freeman, 23, of Brooklyn Park, in connection with the hit-and-run.
RELATED: Pedestrian killed in Brooklyn Park hit-and-run crash
As previously reported, first responders were called to the intersection of Highway 252 and 73rd Avenue North at about 1:23 a.m., Tuesday, and found a woman had been struck by a vehicle.
The woman was identified by the State Patrol as 25-year-old Amiah Armstrong Walker.
Charging documents state that Walker got out of the car she was in due to an argument, and the driver of that car pulled onto the shoulder while others tried to get Walker back inside the car.
While this was taking place, the State Patrol said a Toyota Rav 4, driven by Freeman, was traveling at a high rate of speed in the right-hand lane and struck Walker, killing her. The vehicle allegedly driven by Freeman never stopped.
According to a criminal complaint, later that night, officers were called to check out a suspicious vehicle and found Freeman sleeping in the back seat. Officers noted the vehicle had damage consistent with hitting something and matched the suspect vehicle.
Investigators also learned that Freeman had been stopped roughly five hours before the fatal crash and his vehicle didn’t have any front-end damage at that time.
Freeman denied crashing into anything, saying that the damage to the vehicle happened “a while” earlier. When further questioned, he suggested the vehicle was stolen, court documents state.
Freeman was still in the hospital Thursday and wasn’t yet in custody at the time of his charging.
For Related Stories: Brooklyn Park Charges Criminal Charges Fatal Crash Hit-and-run