A tragic hit-and-run incident claimed the life of a Virginia magazine editor as she crossed a street in downtown Richmond, officials reported.
Hope Cartwright, a 23-year-old associate editor for the well-known Virginia Living magazine, lost her life on Monday, February 16, as confirmed by the publication’s publisher, John-Lawrence Smith.
“I am deeply saddened to share some heartbreaking news with you today,” Smith expressed in a Facebook announcement. “Hope, at just 23, was incredibly talented, committed, and a cherished member of our Virginia Living team.”
“She was on the brink of what promised to be an extraordinary career, and her loss creates a void that words fail to fill,” he continued.
Hope Cartwright, an associate editor with Virginia Living magazine, succumbed to injuries from the hit-and-run in Richmond. Latesha Coleman, aged 41, faces charges of felony hit-and-run. (Image via The Virginia Living magazine/Facebook)
The Richmond Police Department stated that officers responded to the scene at approximately 5:34 p.m. on Monday, where they discovered Cartwright unresponsive. She was immediately taken to a hospital, where she later passed away.
Using traffic camera footage and data from Flock Automatic License Plate Readers, authorities determined that a vehicle making a left turn struck her and fled before officers arrived. According to police, analysts in the RPD Capital City Intelligence Center identified the vehicle and its registered owner, identified as Latesha Coleman, 41, within an hour.
Coleman is charged with felony hit-and-run in connection to the crash. Her next court appearance is March 10.
Latesha Coleman, 41, of Richmond, has been charged with felony hit-and-run. (Richmond, Virginia Police Department)
On Wednesday, according to WTVR-TV, the Commonwealth’s Attorney urged the judge to deny bond citing Coleman’s criminal history of drug possession and selling convictions, petit larceny conviction, and several failures to appear dating back to 2002.
She was more than halfway through the intersection, they said.
“[Hope] did everything she was supposed to,” the prosecution told the judge.
According to the outlet, the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office said that the video allegedly shows Coleman briefly slowing down after impact before driving off.
Hope Cartwright smiling in an Instagram photo. The 23-year-old was killed in a hit-and-run in Richmond. (Hope Cartwright/Instagram)
They also said, according to WTVR-TV, that Coleman told detectives she thought she hit a curb and that investigators “noticed an odor of alcohol.”
But the prosecutor said that there are no curbs or medians anywhere near the middle of the intersection where Cartwright was struck. They also said Coleman was driving on a suspended license but at one point did have a CDL license.
