A Charleston woman was killed early Sunday morning after she was hit by a truck, and a Putnam County man was charged in the incident Monday afternoon.
Carli Elizabeth Sears, 20, was pronounced dead at Ruby Memorial Hospital on Sunday, according to the Morgantown Police Department. Sears was hit by a black pickup truck around 2:30 a.m. Sunday on Stewart Street, callers told emergency dispatchers in Morgantown. The truck then drove off.
Police Chief Ed Preston said Sears was walking on the sidewalk when she was hit.
Alexander Hambrick, 19, of Winfield, turned himself in Monday, Preston said. Hambrick was initially charged with violating Erin's Law, a state law that requires motorists involved in crashes resulting in injury or death to stay at the scene. Violators of that law face a prison sentence of one to five years and a fine of not more than $5,000.
Police said early Monday they had found the truck they believed had hit Sears, hours before Hambrick's arrest was announced.
The Morgantown Fire Department and Monongalia County EMS also responded to the accident scene on Sunday morning. Emergency responders tried to treat Sears at the scene, then took her to the hospital, according to a news release.
Sears was a student at the University of Mississippi, according to an email the school sent out Sunday night. She was a junior majoring in hospitality management, and was a member of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, according to the school.
"The University of Mississippi community mourns the tragic loss of Carli Sears," Brandi Hephner LaBanc, vice president of student affairs, said in a statement. "We are simply heartbroken by this news. Our thoughts are with all of her family and those in the Ole Miss family that shared in her life."
Snodgrass Funeral Home in South Charleston is in charge of the funeral arrangements. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home, with the service at 11 a.m. Friday at First Presbyterian Church in Charleston.
Reach Erin Beck at erin.beck@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5163, Facebook.com/erinbeckwv, or follow @erinbeckwv on Twitter.