2 people arrested for fatal hit-and-run of 55-year-old woman in Brookhaven
BROOKHAVEN, Ga. - The Brookhaven Police Department has announced the arrest of two individuals they believe were involved in the fatal hit-and-run of 55-year-old Linda Powell.
The incident happened Oct. 19 near Clairmont Road and Canmont Drive. Officers found Powell deceased in the roadway. After interviewing multiple witnesses and obtaining video footage from nearby businesses, they came to the conclusion that two drivers were involved.
On Oct. 23, they arrested the two people they believe hit Powell. Both individuals were booked into DeKalb County Jail and are being charged with felony hit-and-run.
They have been identified as 51-year-old Koechiesta Smith and 21-year-old Hugo Valente.
Koechiesta Smith and Hugo Valente
The investigation is ongoing and additional charges could be filed.
ORIGINAL STORY
A mother was recently hit by not one car, but two in Brookhaven. Both drivers left her out in the street to die. Now, her daughter is pleading for witnesses to the double hit-and-run to come forward with vital information.
"She had the biggest heart of anybody I know," said daughter Amanda Whitaker. "I need to know where she took her last breaths."
The incident occurred on Clairmont Road around 7 a.m. That's where Brookhaven Police reported that two separate vehicles struck 55-year-old Linda Powell.
Her daughter told FOX 5 Powell routinely crossed Clairmont Road each morning to get to the bus stop for work. She said there were no nearby crosswalks and they had witnessed others would do the same.
Whitaker said she found out on her son's 18th birthday. The family was planning to celebrate with the matriarch.
"I had to tell him on his 18th birthday his nana was gone," Whitaker said. "We just we didn't even celebrate his birthday. I mean, we just we couldn't."
The police are actively searching for both drivers who left the scene.
"I just want to know who it was," Whitaker said. "She just she does not deserve to have lain in the middle of a road and died all alone and no one to care about that."
If you would like to help the family with expenses, click here for their GoFundMe account.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Brookhaven Police at 404-637-0600.