Hit-and-run yields no tickets
Staff writer
The wife of a city council member was not ticketed after she drove her car into another in a hit-and-run accident Nov. 30.
According to interim police chief Zach Hudlin’s report, the accident was caused by Keri Collett, 36, wife of Zach Collett, improperly backing into a parking stall.
Collett’s 2013 Toyota Sienna struck an illegally parked 2012 Nissan Maxima owned by Karissa R. Spence of rural Marion.
The Nissan was parked over a line that divides parking spaces in the 300 block of E. Main St. Both vehicles sustained damage to their right sides, Hudlin wrote in his report.
Hudlin said if he had cited Collett for improper backing, he would have had to cite Spence for improper parking.
“They both were at fault,” Hudlin said.
He decided to “call it even” and write no citations.
However, Collett left the scene without providing her insurance information to Spence.
Hudlin said she told Spence she was “going over there,” indicating her mother-in-law’s bakery, CB Baked Goods, 420 E. Main St.
Hudlin recalled that Collett told him she expected Spence would recognize her.
Spence didn’t recognize Collett, but others who saw the accident did.
Under Kansas law, a hit-and-run accident that only causes property damage is a misdemeanor. The driver is required to stop and share information with the property owner. Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to $2,500 if damage exceeds $1,000, probation or jail time.
What ordinarily happens when a driver hits a vehicle and leaves the scene is that the driver is cited for leaving the scene of an accident and police follow up with an affidavit so a prosecutor knows what happened.
No affidavit has been filed in connection with the incident.
If the owner of a car that is hit contacts the prosecutor’s office to provide victim information in writing, the statement can be used to get restitution.