By now, everyone in Chattanooga is familiar with the tragic death of city police officer Nicholas Galinger this past weekend. He was struck late Saturday while inspecting a manhole cover on Hamill Road. The driver did not stop at the scene, police and news sources have stated.
According to law enforcement officials, a 54-year-old Hixson woman has been arrested on multiple charges related to the deadly accident, including vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident with death.
She apparently turned herself in to law enforcement officials earlier today.
In addition to the vehicular homicide and leaving the scene charges, she’s also been charged with reckless driving, failure to render aid, speeding, driving left of the center line, violating traffic control, failure to report an accident and failure to exercise due care.
Police believe she was speeding in the rain and then crossing a double center line before striking a warning sign in the center of Hamill Road intended to alert drivers of the problem manhole cover. She is accused of then striking the 38-year-old officer just after 11 pm with the white Honda CR-V she is thought to have been driving.
Police then sought a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle. They apparently found a vehicle with heavy front-end and windshield damage at her address.
Galinger graduated from the police academy early this year and was a field training officer.
A Times Free Press article on Sunday said police had not yet determined if the woman had been driving the Honda at the time of the deadly crash.
Even in a time of mourning, it is important to remember that the public has not heard her version of events and that she is entitled to legal representation and her day in court.
