LARGO, Fla. — The Largo Police Department said a woman has been arrested after a hit-and-run crash injured a woman and a child in a Walmart parking lot in Largo on Thursday evening.
Police said the suspect, 32-year-old Lauren Howells, hit an adult woman and a child and then crashed into other vehicles in the Walmart parking lot at 2677 Roosevelt Blvd. before leaving the scene.
Officials said the woman suffered serious injuries, and the child suffered critical, life-threatening injuries. Both were taken to an area hospital.
Clearwater Police said they located the suspect vehicle at the Days Inn on Gulf to Bay Blvd, but the suspect was not there. Investigators said Howells left the Days Inn before the incident at Walmart, returned shortly after the crash, and left the Days Inn in a second vehicle before Clearwater Police arrived.
According to Largo Police, the PCSO stopped a separate vehicle that was also registered to Howells for a traffic stop. Largo Police and the PCSO worked together to locate Howells, and she was taken into custody at the Murphy Hotel.
Police said during an interview, Howells admitted to driving the vehicle, "hitting something," and leaving the scene.
Police charged Howells with leaving the scene with property damage, two counts of leaving the scene with serious bodily injury, and one count of reckless driving with serious bodily injury.
The investigation is ongoing.
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