Woman in hit-and-run struck by officer for second time, who slammed into her, then backed into her: friend
A woman who was struck by a speeding hit-and-run driver when she was crossing the street Saturday night, was hit again just moments later — this time by a police officer responding to the accident.
Quiana Brown, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene of the intersection of North Street and North Foster Drive in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Officers said it was unclear whether she was already dead at the time of the second impact, claiming she was still lying in the road in the dark when the cop hit her.
But a friend who witnessed the accident told WAFB Brown was actually picking up her clothes from the road when she was struck the second time.
“When police hit her, it threw her into the air and she landed on the ground, but then he ran over her again,” Lorraine claimed. “Like backed over her.”
Surveillance footage obtained by local news station WBRZ showed a gray sedan plow through Brown as she was walking to a convenience store Saturday night, apparently sending the woman flying several feet.
The sedan continued to drive away without stopping.
It then cuts to a scene further down the road, where bystanders could be seen gathering.
Brown is not visible from the camera angle, but after a police vehicle drove down the street with its lights flashing the bystanders could be seen reacting in shock.
One man threw his arms up into the air, while a woman turned away from the road and placed her hands on her head.
The incident came just about 10 minutes after the first crash, according to WBRZ.
The Baton Rouge Police Department is now investigating the crash and the responding officer’s actions.
Police are also searching for the driver of the gray or silver sedan with tinted windows that first struck Brown Saturday night, sharing a photo of the vehicle on social media on Wednesday.
They noted the vehicle’s front grill, hood and rear driver-side door are likely damaged.
Meanwhile, Brown’s brother, Quincy, is now desperate for answers.
He told the Washington Post he first learned of his sister’s death early Sunday morning from other family members, who told him she died in a hit-and-run.
But on Monday, he saw a local news report saying there had been an update to the case, and decided to look up his sister’s name online.
It was only then that he learned Quiana had been struck twice, the second time by a police officer.
“My heart was broken,” Quincy told the Washington Post.
He said he is still struggling to understand how an officer could have ended up striking his sister, and is anxiously waiting for an update from the Baton Rouge Police Department.
“I’m trying to get somebody to make this make sense to me,” Quincy said.
