A’miah Armstrong-Walker’s family released balloons on Monday, one day before the suspect in her death is due in court.

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — A man accused of hitting and killing a woman on Highway 252 in Brooklyn Park last week will make his first court appearance Tuesday.

Ryan Freeman is charged with one count of criminal vehicular homicide and investigators say he also left the scene after the crash.

It happened on May 19 when court documents say A’miah Armstrong Walker got out of a car during an argument. The driver pulled over and the occupants tried to convince Armstrong-Walker to get back in. She was reportedly standing on the driver’s side near the fog line when Freeman struck her and failed to stop. 



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“I want the world to know my daughter was not just a pedestrian hit on 252,” said Amanda Walker Hunter, Armstrong Walker’s mother. “She has a family that loves her, friends that loved her and we are going to miss her.”

Walker Hunter says her daughter was a new mother, loved the outdoors and playing basketball. 

“She showed up for everybody, so now it’s our time to show up for her,” said Darryl Hunter, Armstrong Walker’s stepfather. 

State Troopers responded to the crash around 1:30 a.m. and those court documents say troopers observed numerous pieces of a dark grey vehicle strewn about the scene and collected them as evidence. They believed the suspect vehicle had damage to multiple areas. 

Traffic cameras didn’t capture the crash, but did catch the suspect vehicle before and after. 

Troopers then issued requests for help on social media and say they were dispatched to a suspicious vehicle later that evening. The driver, Freeman, was sleeping in the back with his cat. 

Freeman admitted to driving the car at the time, but said he didn’t crash into anything. At one point, troopers said he even suggested the car had been stolen. He was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on Friday.

“It doesn’t matter, she’s not here,” said Walker Hunter. “Whether he ran, whether you catch him, whether he gets 50 years or five years, it’s not going to bring my daughter back.”

Armstrong Walker’s family hosted a balloon release in her honor on Memorial Day. Her longtime partner, Desirae Elmberg, said the two just welcomed a baby boy eight months ago.

“He looks at pictures of her every day and I hate that somebody took my son’s other parent,” said Elmberg.

Freeman’s court appearance is scheduled Tuesday for 1 p.m.