A Lisbon woman was seriously injured in a hit-and-run crash in the Market Basket parking lot in Topsham on Sunday afternoon, police said.
Jeremy Hunter, 46, of Lisbon, was charged with aggravated assault, reckless conduct and driving to endanger in connection with the incident. He was taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset and was being held on $50,000 cash bail.
Police and fire crews responded to the Market Basket around 2:40 p.m. Sunday after witnesses reported a driver in a Mazda CX-5 struck a pedestrian and left the scene, appearing to accelerate before hitting the victim.
The victim was identified as Althea Kennedy-Ecker, 72, of Lisbon. Her son, who was with her at the time, was nearly struck, Topsham Police Chief Marc Hagan said in a news release Tuesday. Kennedy-Ecker was taken to Maine Medical center in Portland with serious injuries.
“One witness stated they had witnessed the vehicle involved accelerate through the parking lot once, prior to the crash, and then return to its original position before again accelerating and striking the woman,” the release read.
Market Basket employees told police that the suspect had accelerated through the lot just before the crash and had nearly hit an employee pushing shopping carts.
Brunswick Police stopped the suspect’s vehicle on Route 1 in Brunswick and arrested Hunter, the driver. Hunter was detained in Brunswick until Topsham officers arrived to take him into custody.
The Brunswick department had received a report of an earlier hit-and-run crash at the TJ Maxx in Cook’s Corner at around 1:50 p.m. the same day. A vehicle, later determined to be the same one involved in the Topsham incident, hit another vehicle and fled the scene. Brunswick officers charged Hunter with leaving the scene of an accident in connection with the earlier crash, Brunswick Police Department Chief Scott Stewart said Wednesday.
Police asked anyone who witnessed the crash and did not already speak to authorities to contact officer Frasier Vachon at 207-725-4337 or [email protected].
