A woman is dead after a vehicle struck her on West Oak Street in Louisville's Park Hill neighborhood before dawn Friday and the driver kept going, leaving her behind. Louisville Metro Police say she was taken to UofL Hospital, where she later died. The driver has not been found.
According to WAVE News, officers were called to the 1100 block of West Oak Street around 3:43 a.m. Friday after the woman was hit by a vehicle that then drove away. The vehicle drove away. The LMPD Traffic Unit is now leading the investigation, and as of the latest update, investigators do not have a description of the vehicle involved.
Police are asking anyone with information to call the anonymous crime tip line at 502-574-5673, the same tip line referenced in the original WAVE News report. LMPD has made an arrest and charged a person.
A Familiar Legal Reckoning If the Driver Is Found
If investigators do identify the driver, Kentucky law treats fleeing a fatal crash scene as a serious felony. Under Kentucky Revised Statutes Section 189.580, a driver involved in a collision resulting in death or serious injury who fails to stop, render aid, and exchange identification faces a Class D felony charge, according to the law firm of Dolt, Thompson, Shepherd, Conway & Stanton. Beyond criminal exposure, Kentucky law also allows crash victims or their estates to pursue civil litigation and punitive damages against hit-and-run drivers, per the Ruby Law Firm.
This is not an isolated case for the department this year. The LMPD Traffic Unit has investigated multiple fatal hit-and-run incidents in 2026, including an April crash in the Highview neighborhood and a June fatal collision on Crittenden Drive that ultimately led to an arrest, according to earlier local television coverage. West Oak Street itself has already drawn Hoodline's attention this month after a shooting over a slot machine broke out on the same street just days earlier.
A Corridor Already Flagged for Safety Fixes
The stretch of West Oak Street where the woman was killed is in Louisville's Park Hill neighborhood.
The crash occurred on West Oak Street in Louisville.
The woman was struck by a vehicle before dawn Friday.
For now, the report does not identify the woman, and the driver who left her on West Oak Street remains unidentified. LMPD is continuing to ask anyone with information about the vehicle or the crash to come forward as the Traffic Unit's investigation moves ahead.
