Woman killed by hit-and-run driver

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A 59-year-old woman was killed in a hit-and-run accident on Tuesday evening.

 Police say a maroon Toyota Camry had been involved in a minor crash a few blocks away from the 600 block of E. St. Johns Ave. The driver of the Toyota fled the scene of that crash at a high speed. When it reached the E. St. Johns Ave. bridge over N IH 35, the driver lost control and spun onto the sidewalk - striking a woman walking on the sidewalk.

The Toyota then flipped over and the driver and two passengers fled the scene on foot. The woman, whose name is not being released pending notification of her family, was transported to University Medical Center at Brackenridge where she was pronounced dead.

Police found the two passengers, who then identified the driver for investigators. The driver has not been located, but authorities say they expect to charge him with manslaughter and failure to stop and render aid.

His name will be released when charges are filed.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call APD Vehicular Homicide Unit Detectives at (512) 974-8266. This case remains under investigation. This is the 62nd fatality of 2009. During this time in 2008, APD had 57 fatalities for the year.

The crash happened along Interstate 35 at St. John's Avenue around 9:30 p.m. Police said the woman was walking along St. John's when a car ran into a curb and rolled over. Witnesses told Austin police the vehicle was driving erratically before the crash.

Law enforcement said the three men inside the car fled the scene after the accident.  Police caught and arrested two of them. The drivers could face charges of leaving the scene of a collision, and failure to stop and render aid.

The woman died after being transported to University Medical Center at Brackenridge.