ASGDC BOOKING PHOTOGRAPH:
Garnitra Demitra Whitaker
Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook announces an arrest in a hit and run incident involving a child victim.
Garnitra Demitra Whitaker (DOB: 6-25-1959) is charged with Hit and Run, Driving under Suspension and Failure to Render Aid. Whitaker is accused of driving a vehicle that struck an 8-year-old girl at the intersection of Two Notch Road and Taylor Street shortly after 8:00 o’clock last night. Whitaker was transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
CPD officers located Whitaker after a thorough investigation late last night. The vehicle she’s accused of driving, a 2003 Kia Sedona mini-van, was found at Gonzalez Gardens shortly after the incident.
The victim suffered abrasions and a broken leg and is being medically treated for her non-life threatening injuries.
Preliminary information from the Traffic Safety Unit indicates that the child ran across several lanes of traffic before being struck by minivan. The incident was captured on surveillance video.
In a separate incident last night, two pedestrians were struck by a car at the intersection of Harden and Greene Streets shortly after 11:00 o’clock. One male pedestrian received minor abrasions and refused medical attention at the scene. The second pedestrian was taken to a local hospital. According to medical staff, he has a possible head injury.
The pedestrians in this case were cited for Pedestrian Unlawfully in the Roadway.
All persons arrested/charged are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.