A West Des Moines woman who crashed and abandoned her vehicle has died.
The Polk County Medical Examiner’s Office reported to Des Moines police that 38-year-old Margarita Santiago-Popovski had died on Thursday, June 5, apparently due to injuries sustained in a recent vehicle crash, according to a news release from the Des Moines Police Department.
Investigators spent the afternoon investigating the crash. Evidence indicated she was connected to a crashed and abandoned vehicle that patrol officers recovered in the 1200 block of School Street just before 11:30 a.m. that day, the release said.
It was later discovered that Santiago-Popovski had been driving the vehicle and crashed around 10:30 p.m. the previous night. Someone had picked up Santiago-Popovski shortly before midnight and took her back to her home in West Des Moines.
West Des Moines EMS responded to Santiago-Popovski’s residence at approximately 1:30 a.m. on June 5, at which time she was taken to UnityPoint – Methodist Medical Center, where she received care until her death, according to the release.
Des Moines police are investigating the crash.
Norah Judson is a reporter for the Register. Reach her at njudson@gannett.com.
This story was updated to add a video.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Police: West Des Moines woman who crashed then abandoned vehicle has died
Reporting by Norah Judson, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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