70-year-old Wheeling woman charged with fleeing accident on foot

A 70-year-old Wheeling woman was charged with hit-and-run Thursday after causing an accident then fleeing the scene on foot, Wheeling police said.

Erika Huett, a resident of Sandpebble Condominiums in Wheeling, was southbound on Wheeling Road near Jefferson Court in her Mercury Gran Marquis when she rear-ended another vehicle at 3:22 p.m. Thursday afternoon, said Cmdr. Pete Panagakis of the Wheeling Police Department.

The force of the crash sent the Toyota Tacoma she struck into a semitrailer parked at the intersection, Panagakis said.

None of the drivers were injured, he added.

After causing the crash, Huett allegedly climbed out of her car, and fled the scene of the crash on foot, “running” to her nearby condo, Panagakis said.

“She managed to get back to her apartment before our officers arrived on the scene,” Panagakis said. “So the average foot per second she was running at was definitely more than people would assume.”

Police arrived at the scene and heard from witnesses the woman fled, Panagakis said. Officers traced the vehicle back to her apartment, where she was arrested.

Huett was officially charged with misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and leaving the scene of a property damage accident, Panagakis said.

She was released after posting bond. Her next court date is unknown at this time.