An Auburndale woman has been arrested following a hit-and-run incident that injured a 6-year-old boy, the Auburndale Police Department reported.
Officers responded Wednesday at 6:19 p.m. to a crash at Reiter Drive and Robert Avenue, APD said in a news release.
Witnesses reported that the vehicle that struck the child, a silver Mazda SUV, fled the scene but remained within the neighborhood, APD said. The boy had a head laceration, scrapes and bruises, an officer wrote in an arrest affidavit.
Emergency medical personnel treated the boy at the scene before airlifting him to Tampa General Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, the release said.
Following an extensive search, officers located the suspect vehicle at 3032 Robert Ave. #B in Auburndale. Officers made contact with Cheryl Ann Alexander, 68, the vehicle’s registered owner. Alexander initially denied any knowledge of the incident, but further investigation revealed that a piece of the vehicle’s grill found at the crash site matched her SUV, the release said.
Alexander later admitted that her daughter, Shannon Marie Hudson, 34, had been driving the vehicle. She claimed that Hudson had left hours before the crash, the release said.
After detecting more inconsistencies in Alexander’s statements, Sgt. Tristen Lahr requested permission to search the residence. Alexander then confessed that Hudson was hiding inside the home and admitted she had lied to protect her from being arrested, the release said.
Officers found Hudson concealed in a bathroom. She was identified as the driver through witness confirmation and arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a crash without rendering aid and given a civil citation for driving with a learner’s permit without a front-seat passenger.
After being read her rights, Hudson said she fled the scene because she only had a learner’s permit, the release said. Alexander was also arrested for providing false information during an investigation.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Police: Auburndale woman arrested for leaving scene after vehicle hit 6-year-old
Reporting by Gary White, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
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