Woman Charged In Jogger Hit-And-Run

MORGANTON, N.C.,None — Police have arrested a woman they say hit a jogger two weeks ago.

Mary Helen Smith, 86, of 218 N. Anderson St., Morganton, was charged Thursday with hit and run with injury, according to Morganton Department of Public Safety.

The charge stems from an Aug. 17 incident where a car struck Whitney Dean Edwards, 25, of 109 Asheville St., while he was jogging along Burkemont Avenue. The car then left.

Edwards was treated for ligament damage and several scrapes and bruises.

Police on Friday released more details on the 2:43 p.m. wreck Thursday on Collett Street.

Vaishaliben Nileshkumar Patel, 30, of 504 Bethel Road, Morganton, was driving north on Collett Street in a 2009 Toyota Sienna when she ran the red light at Collett's intersection with King Street, according to a Morganton Department of Public Safety wreck report.

Her van struck Abraham Isaac Amador, 37, of 425 Bost Road, as he was driving east on North King Street in a 1989 Oldsmobile Cutlass, the report said. Patel then struck a retaining wall at the First United Methodist Church.

Paramedics treated both on the scene, and Amador was transported to the hospital after sustaining visible injuries.

Damage was estimated at $6,000 for the van, $3,000 for the car and $2,000 for the wall.

Patel was charged with a stoplight violation.

WSOC