By JEFF LIPTON
Detective Laura Monahan of the 4th Squad followed many clues during the nearly six-month investigation that ended with the arrest of the suspect, identified as Mariah Mills of Waterview Road. ³She pieced it together laboriously,² 4th Squad Detective Sgt. Ronald Nesbitt said of Monahan. ³It was a lot of labor-intensive work. She interviewed witnesses, she took pictures of the accident scene and she really did a good job. And she really did a standup job in identifying the driver.²
Mills was arrested as she was leaving Nassau County Court in Mineola, though her presence there was unrelated to the case.
Investigators said that Mills was driving a rented black 2006 Dodge Charger on Centre Avenue in East Rockaway at about 7 a.m. on Jan. 23 when she struck 61-year-old Paulette Racanelli, who was crossing the street. Racanelli was thrown against the windshield and into the air before she landed on the pavement, Nesbitt said.
Mills, who was allegedly driving with a suspended license, did not check on the victim or call for help, but rather tried to drive away, police said.
Nesbitt said that a couple of pedestrians who saw Racanelli get hit chased the vehicle and positioned themselves in front of the car to prevent the driver from leaving. ³The good Samaritans got in front of the car and told her, ŒStop, don¹t leave!¹² Nesbitt said. ³[Mills] then puts the car in gear and drives around them.²
Racanelli suffered injuries to her head, neck and leg, and was rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside. She has since been released from the hospital, but she did not return a phone call last Friday. Mills could not be reached for comment.
³The injuries to the victim were not minor,² Nesbitt said. ³She¹s lucky that she has the use of her limbs.
³[Mills] was driving with a suspended license,² Nesbitt added. ³It¹s a shame that miscreants feel that they are above the law.²
Detectives were ultimately led to the suspect by witnesses¹ descriptions of the car and license plate, officials said. The vehicle was first traced to a car rental company and then to Mills. It is not yet clear how Mills was able to rent a car with a suspended license.
Mills was charged with first-degree leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident that caused personal injury, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, officials said. She was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead.
Mills¹s license had been suspended on eight previous occasions, officials said. Nesbitt said she has a lengthy arrest record, but he did not offer any specifics.
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