Woman arrested after hit-and-run leaves child injured in parking lot

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An 18-year-old woman was arrested Sunday following a hit-and-run accident that injured a 2-year-old child, according to court and police documents.

The child was walking with his father about 12:30 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of University Shoppes, a shopping center at 3919 Madison Ave., when the hit-and-run crash happened. A gray Ford Escape SUV hit the child.

The child was taken to Riley Hospital for Children in stable condition, suffering from severe road rash on his arms, legs, and head.

Lanyah Vaughn-Taylor fled the scene but later returned and surrendered to the police. Her case was entered Sunday in Marion Superior Court 34, and a judge ordered she be released from custody. She wil face a charge of failure to remain at the scene of an accident with bodily injury. Her initial hearing was set for Dec. 1.

Court documents say a witness followed the SUV and confronted Vaughn-Taylor at a stoplight, where Vaughn-Taylor acknowledged hitting the child.

Officer Richard Faulkner of the IMPD, along with Officer Blake Benton from the University of Indianapolis Police Department, responded to the scene. They gathered statements from the victim’s father and the witness.

Vaughn-Taylor returned to the scene, driven by a friend, not in the suspect vehicle, and decided to surrender because she saw the child she struck and has children of her own.

About The Author

See author's posts