Mpls. Hit-And-Run Victim Dies; Suspect Vehicle Located
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minneapolis police are a bit closer to finding the driver responsible for the hit-and-run death of a mother of four.
Someone struck and killed 50-year-old Yvonne Gibson at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday near the corner of 30th Avenue and Fremont Avenue North in Minneapolis.
Witnesses say it appeared the driver intentionally struck the woman and dragged her short distance down the street.
Two Minneapolis police officers on routine patrol spotted the vehicle in north Minneapolis early Wednesday.
They are now asking for the public's help to find the person who was driving it.
"I feel just so bad for the family that they're going to have to go through this," neighbor Kingdemetrius Pendleton said. "Another soul [has] been lost."
Pendleton erected a memorial to Gibson, taped to a tree near the spot where she was killed.
The balloons and teddy bear capture the heartache and outrage being felt all across the north side.
"She also has a daughter she said that's serving in the service," Pendleton said. "She had just been visiting with her daughter … she's going to find out about this information. It's going to be painstakingly hard for her to deal with it."
Police believe Gibson was talking to the driver who was parked along the street. That is when the car sped suddenly away, dragging Gibson with it.
"For some reason [Gibson] became attached to the vehicle, whether she held on we don't know at this point," Minneapolis Police Spokesman John Elder said. "She fell and was subsequently critically injured."
She died a few hours later at North Memorial Medical Center. Security cameras near the neighborhood photographed the suspect vehicle as it sped away. It appeared to be an older Blue and White cab with a spotlight attached to the driver's door.
"The gut-wrenching thing for a person to run a person over and then to just keep going, I mean, it's just senseless," Pendleton said.
Police are talking to the registered owner of vehicle, which is undergoing forensic testing. But there are still no solid leads directing them to the actual driver.
"We're getting lots of information from witnesses and forensic testing on that vehicle should be able to tell us the whole story within itself," Elder said.
Anyone with information is urged to call 911 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be submitted anonymously by texting CRIMES (274637), and beginning the message with "TIP674." They are offering a $1,000 reward.