Police in Louisiana arrested a woman on Sunday for a hit-and-run that left a coworker critically injured.
The Slidell Police reported that paramedics were dispatched to the Greenbriar Community Care Center shortly after 11 p.m. following reports of a woman who had allegedly fallen in the parking area. The woman was transported to a nearby hospital, where doctors concluded her injuries were more indicative of being struck by a vehicle rather than a simple fall.
The hospital notified police, which launched an investigation.
Upon investigation, authorities reviewed surveillance footage from the center. The video showed the victim, an employee at the facility, being hit by an SUV that was carelessly reversing through the parking lot.
The SUV’s driver was identified as Lillian Sellers, aged 67, who is also an employee at the center. The surveillance captured her leaving her car, picking up a piece of the car’s bumper that had broken off, and proceeding to work as though nothing occurred.
Instead of offering assistance or alerting emergency services, Sellers informed her colleagues that a woman had fallen in the parking lot and required help, according to the police.
The center’s staff went outside to aid the woman and dialed 911, unaware that she had been hit by Sellers’ vehicle and oblivious to the severity of her injuries.
Sellers was apprehended and is facing charges that include reckless operation of a motor vehicle, hit and run causing severe injury, negligent injury, and obstruction of justice due to evidence tampering.
Several witnesses told police that it wasn’t unusual for Sellers to driver erratically in the parking lot, and when officers tried to question her about the incident, “she just shrugged her shoulders and provided no explanation.”
Police stressed that they did not believe Sellers hit the woman intentionally. They said she is seen in the video running inside to clock in to work — “presumably running late” — and then rushing back out to get to her assigned parking location.
“The driveway is part of a larger one-way cul-de-sac around the facility, which was why Sellers was driving in reverse, in order to get into a parking spot,” police said. ” … What is intentional is that Sellers obviously knew she struck a person and went as far as to remove evidence to cover her tracks.”
The victim, who was not named, remains in critical condition.
