SEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan. — The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal hit-and-run crash that occurred Thursday evening.
Just after 5 p.m., deputies, Sedgwick County EMS and Sedgwick County Fire District #1 responded to a hit-and-run crash at 47th Street South and Clifton, according to Sheriff's Department spokesman Branden Stitt.
Witnesses reported that a red Dodge Nitro was traveling south on Clifton when it failed to yield to an eastbound Ford Fiesta and struck the vehicle in the intersection.
The impact caused the driver of the Fiesta, identified as 75-year-old Manolopoulos Panagiotis of Wichita, to be ejected and then struck by his own car.
Sedgwick County EMS transported Panagiotis to a Wichita hospital in extremely critical condition. He later succumbed to his injuries at 10:46 p.m. The driver of the Nitro fled the scene following the collision.
Thanks to witness reports and information provided to 911 dispatchers, deputies utilized the Flock license plate reader system to locate the suspect vehicle in the parking lot of the Walmart in Derby. With assistance from the Derby Police Department, the driver, identified as 24-year-old Madelyn Walter of Derby, was found at a nearby Derby residence.
Walter was arrested and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on a requested charge of failing to stop at an injury crash resulting in great bodily injury. As part of the investigation, it was determined that Walter’s 5-year-old child was in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Neither Walter nor the child was injured.
The crash remains under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Major Crash Team. Once all details are gathered, the case will be presented to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office for formal charging.