The Broward Sheriff’s Office has arrested a Miramar woman they believe is responsible for a deadly hit-and-run crash that occurred in West Park on Monday.
Karen Essick, 66, was arrested Wednesday on charges of tampering with physical evidence and failure to remain on the scene in an accident involving death.
BSO deputies responded to the scene near Barry Road and West Hallandale Beach Boulevard around 6:45 a.m. Monday, and found a woman lying in the roadway. Investigators said she was not in a designated crosswalk when she was hit.
The victim has been identified as Mishell Warner, 61. Her family told CBS News Miami that Warner was a mother of two boys, a caregiver to her elderly mother, a nurse, a minister at her church, and an Army veteran.
“She was just a caring person overall, she loved to help others, she loved to give back, she was just kind in every way that you could think of,” Sean Simons, Warner’s cousin, said.
Simons said Warner was on her way to work at Memorial Regional Hospital, where she had worked for the last 35 years. She was on her usual walk to a bus stop near her home in West Park when she was struck and killed by a driver who kept going.
“I felt in my heart that if this person had stopped even for just a second, a quick second that might have saved her life,” said Charlene White, another cousin of Warner’s.
Detectives say surveillance video showed that after the fatal crash, Essick stopped her Toyota Corolla, got out briefly, made a U-turn to return to the crash scene, and then left.
BSO reportedly found Essick’s car at a West Park repair shop with damage matching the car parts left at the scene. When detectives contacted Essick, she admitted to the crash.
“To that person who did this, I don’t know what happened or what went through your mind at that time,” Simons said.
Warner’s family remains heartbroken, knowing that after she spent her whole life helping others, she was left helpless when she needed it most.
“If you’re in a hurry, slow down, it’s best that you know that you could go to work and go back to your family,” White said.
