Bloomington police are searching for the driver in the fatal hit-and-run which officers suspect killed a 37-year-old unhoused woman.
The woman was found dead in a ditch last week near Walnut Street Pike in Bloomington.
A passenger riding in a car going south on Walnut Street Pike on Jan. 28 saw what appeared to be a body in a ditch near the road and called 911, Bloomington Police Department Capt. Ryan Pedigo said. Officers arrived around 3:20 p.m. and found the body of a woman whom Monroe County Coroner Joani Stalcup identified as Jade Sanders, an unhoused Bloomington resident.
Initially, Sanders’ cause of death was unclear. However, BPD released a statement Friday saying an autopsy showed Sanders sustained numerous injuries consistent with being hit by a car.
Security footage from a nearby parking lot shows someone driving a large, dark-colored SUV south on Walnut Street Pike before hitting Sanders, and then continuing to drive. Officers say the crash occurred around 6:45 p.m,. Jan. 27 and likely damaged the front of the SUV.
Witnesses told officers they saw a dark SUV stop near Walnut Street Pike and East Burks Drive. One passerby said they saw a “middle-aged, dark-complected man in a suit” walk around the car and say he had struck a deer.
Anyone with information on the hit-and-run should contact BPD Detective Chris Scott at (812) 339-4477.
