Woman pleads guilty in deadly New Year’s hit-and-run in Dayton

ajc.com

A woman accused of a deadly hit-and-run early New Year’s Day 2022 has pleaded guilty as charged.  

Christy Marie Smith, 38, pleaded guilty to failure to stop after an accident, which could result in fines up to $10,000 and a prison term of one to three years. She could also face up to five years of parole, and her driver’s license will be suspended for between six months and three years.

Christy Smith

Credit: Montgomery County Jail

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Credit: Montgomery County Jail

She is scheduled to be sentenced May 9.

Smith’s charges stem from the death of Runonya Gail Chambers, 53, of Dayton early Jan. 1, 2022.

According to a Dayton police crash report, just before 2:50 a.m. Chambers was walking east in the 2700 block of East Third Street in the street when a vehicle moving at an unknown speed hit her between Philadelphia and Monmouth streets.

Police reported finding the suspect vehicle, a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse, two days later. Smith is the registered owner of the SUV, the report said.

She was indicted in February 2024 connected to the crash.

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