Woman pedestrian identified in fatal hit-skip crash involving off-duty Columbus cop's SUV
Columbus police on Monday identified the woman who was killed last Wednesday in a hit-and-run crash on the Northeast Side involving a veteran city police officer's personal vehicle.
Naimo Mahdi Abdirahman, 30, was the pedestrian who was struck and killed early last Wednesday morning at Morse Road and Walford Street, police announced Monday.
Hours after the crash, Columbus police Officer Demetris Ortega was placed on "relieved of duty" status — essentially paid suspension — by Chief Elaine Bryant while the crash is fully investigated, The Dispatch previously reported.
Ortega, who has been with the Columbus Division of Police since 2002, is the registered owner of the 2022 Kia Sorento involved in the crash, The Dispatch previously reported from sources. However, Ortega was off-duty and a passenger in the vehicle and was not driving at the time of the crash, a source told the newspaper.
Ortega has not been charged with any crime related to the crash. No crash report had been filed by police as of Monday evening.
But according to a press release issued Monday, police responded around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday to a report that Abdirahman was attempting to cross Morse Road when she was struck by an eastbound vehicle.
The female driver of the vehicle briefly stopped, and a male passenger got out to check the condition of Abdirahman. The male "appeared distraught" and reportedly told the witnesses to call the police, the release states.
The female driver continued eastbound on Morse after the man got out, then she turned onto Malin Street and returned westbound on a service road that runs in front of businesses on the south side of the road, parallel to eastbound Morse Road. She picked up the male passenger, and the pair then fled the scene, police said.
Abdirahman, was pronounced dead at the scene by medics at 2:48 a.m., police said.
Sgt. James Fuqua, spokesperson for the Columbus Division of Police, said Monday that no suspects have been been identified.
He said his media release Monday was based on preliminary eyewitness reports, but was "poorly written" and had led some people to mistakenly assume that police had identified suspects.
“That does not mean (Ortega) wasn't involved. He could be, we just don't know,” Fuqua said.
In response to a question about the timeline of the investigation into the crash, Fuqua replied: "We’re treating this no different than any hit-skip. They can take a while waiting for things to come back."
The Dispatch previously reported that attorney Mark Collins is representing Ortega in the matter. Collins had no further comment Monday, restating that his client would cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
Abdirahman's death is the 23rd traffic-related fatality in Columbus this year, police said in the release. The woman's family plans a press conference Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at the office of a local attorney. The Dispatch will be there and will update this story as more information becomes available.
Cole Behrens is a reporter at The Columbus Dispatch covering public safety and breaking news. You can reach him at CBehrens@dispatch.com or find him on Twitter at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Woman identified as victim in Morse Road hit-skip crash
