MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - The woman responsible for hitting two pedestrians in the Cooper Young area turned herself in Monday morning, but she showed little, if any remorse when ABC 24 News went to get her side of the story.
Based on witness accounts and a picture of the license plate number, Memphis police tracked down the vehicle from the accident on the 600-block of Wicks Avenue in south Memphis on May 25. Investigators stated that the vehicle, a blue 2005 Ford Expedition, had damage consistent with the nature of the accident.
On May 28, the owner of the vehicle, 28-year-old Adrienne Spates, came in to the Traffic Office to give her side of the May 20 incident that sent Shannon Parker, 40, and Katherine Solaas, 22, to the hospital. Parker remains at The MED.
Spates told investigators that she did not know where the two female pedestrians came from, and that they were suddenly in front of her before she could take action. She said as soon as she hit them she got out of her vehicle to go help them, but when several people started running towards her yelling, she got scared for her own safety and fled the scene.
Abc24.com talked to three witnesses from the night of the hit & run. All three refuted the account Spates gave investigators that people were yelling and running towards her. One witness said the only yelling was after Spates took off running back towards her car.
Jonathan Hastings, who snapped this photo of spates' license plate, refuted that account last week. "When I was standing there, the girl who was driving the vehicle passed me, saw what was going on and took off running and I actually started running after her, but she was 10 paces ahead and I hit the ground."
When ABC 24 News went to speak with Adrienne about what happened, she said, "They shouldn't have ran in front of the street, they shouldn't have run in front of my car."
Adrienne Spates was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving injury, failure to report a vehicle accident, and financial responsibility. She was issued a misdemeanor citation and is scheduled to appear in court June 4. Abc24.com talked with a criminal defense attorney who said it is possible charges could be upgraded in the coming weeks.
Spates is also the mother of conjoined twins, who were successfully separated in a landmark surgery at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital on August 29, 2011. The twins are now in the custody of the Department of Child Services after an emergency removal order in April. Her other children are currently staying with relatives.
