A 37-year-old Bountiful woman has been arrested on automobile homicide and related charges nearly five months after a pedestrian was struck and killed in a marked crosswalk, with investigators saying text messages and phone records contradicted her account of what happened that day. Lisa Whittington was taken into custody Thursday, facing multiple felony and misdemeanor charges tied to the deadly May crash in Davis County.
According to KMYU, Bountiful police were initially called to a report of an unconscious woman near a crosswalk at 200 South and Main Street. Officers at the scene believed the pedestrian was suffering a medical emergency and transported her to a hospital, the station reports. It wasn't until later that the incident was identified as a hit-and-run.
Medical professionals found the victim had suffered severe traumatic injuries, including skull fractures and intracranial hemorrhaging, according to the same report. She ultimately died from those injuries. As reported by KUTV, the arrest came after police tied Whittington to the deadly crash in May.
Surveillance Video and a Probable Cause Statement
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage that allegedly showed the victim walking in a marked crosswalk while Whittington's vehicle turned left into her, the station's report states. A probable cause statement said the video showed the victim being hit by the vehicle and knocked violently to the ground.
Whittington gave police shifting accounts of what happened. At one point she said she had found the victim in the road and stopped to render aid, per the same account. She later told police she did not see the victim in the crosswalk but heard a shout, and said she was not using her phone while driving.
Inconsistencies and Incriminating Texts
Police said evidence obtained during the investigation revealed inconsistencies in Whittington's statements. Detectives allegedly found that she had sent text messages after the crash admitting to hitting the woman, the outlet's report notes. According to court documents cited by the same report, Whittington's phone had been used immediately before the crash.
Whittington was booked in jail on charges of automobile homicide by negligence, failure to remain at an accident involving injury, obstruction of justice, making a written false statement, and using a wireless device while operating a vehicle resulting in injury.
