Prosecutors charge Lafayette woman with November hit-and-run fatality on Creasy Lane
LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Kylee Robyn Neal, 45, was charged Wednesday with the hit-and-run death of Kathy Hicks, 61, who police discovered in the road on Creasy Lane near St. Francis Way early Nov. 26.
Prosecutors charged Neal with a level 4 felony for leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death to another person and a Class C misdemeanor for violation of driving conditions.
Neal could face 2 to 12 years of imprisonment, if she’s found guilty of being involved with the hit-and-run fatality.
Hicks had just left the Franciscan Health East Hospital that morning after receiving care and walked towards Creasy Lane, where an officer observed her at about 2:53 a.m., before she was killed by a hit-and-run driver, according to the probable cause, Tippecanoe County Coroner's office and Lafayette police.
When police discovered Hicks, they found a tire mark and vehicle debris near her that corresponded to a specific vehicle, prosecutors claimed in the probable cause affidavit.
Later that day, officers found a vehicle that matched the description of the debris and spoke with Neal, the owner of the vehicle, prosecutors allege.
Police claim Neal told them she did not know there was any damage to her vehicle and explained that she had not driven her vehicle the prior evening or in the morning but did note that her son had taken her car out sometime during the night.
Police claim, however, that investigators determined that a female that matched Neal’s description had been at a bar in Lafayette on Veterans Memorial Parkway, had run up a tab in Neal’s name, and had settled that tab at 2:52 a.m.
Officers also watched video surveillance footage from the bar, which they say depicted Neal exiting the bar and entering the driver’s door of the suspected vehicle from the incident.
Officers claim they also obtained the location data from Neal’s cell phone which showed Neal traveling from her house to the bar on Nov. 26, then leaving the bar and traveling on Creasy Lane in the timeframe of the fatal incident before returning to her residence.
Police say that on May 20, 2022, Neal was granted a specialized driving permit allowing her to drive only for work or necessities of life.
The court had previously suspended her license because of her history of operating a vehicle while intoxicated, prosecutors claim.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Prosecutors charge Lafayette woman with November hit-and-run fatality
