Leaving the scene of an accident is always a bad idea. Now, as Shannon Wolfson reports for Austin News, the friends of a woman killed by a negligent driver are using Facebook to find “clues” in the hit and run accident.
“Justice for Courtney Paige Griffin” is the name of the Facebook page. Not much is apparently known about the accident itself, other than that Griffin was a pedestrian walking home Thursday evening on May 27. A neighbor found her body early the following morning.
But a woman named Gabrielle Nestande was arrested by Texas police and was charged with failing to stop and render aid. It’s not clear what led to Nestande’s arrest. As Wolfson reports, Nestande is alleged to have been drinking at a local bar Thursday evening; it appears as though Nestande may be the ultimate suspect in the hit and run itself.
Heather Tatum is a friend of Griffin’s. She said, “Any information that we can get in that regard is going to be pertinent to prosecuting [Nestande] further than just failure to render aid,” referring to eyewitness accounts of the incident.
According to Wolfson, Nestande has a pre-trial hearing this Friday. Whether or not she is also charged with the hit and run and Griffin’s death remains to be seen. Wolfson reports that Griffin’s Facebook page had more than 200 people who had joined it. Hopefully, as time goes on, someone will come forward on Facebook with a clue.
Source: Austin News, “Police look for hit and run witnesses,” by Shannon Wolfson, 06/07/11