CRESTVIEW – A woman was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after she deliberately hit a pedestrian near the intersection of Ferdon Boulevard and Third Avenue on Wednesday morning, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office.
Heather Marie Heitger, 27, hit 20-year-old Melissa Bailey with a black Dodge Durango about 8:30 a.m. Bailey was knocked into a gutter, the Sheriff’s Office reported.
Witnesses said the women appeared to be arguing beforehand.
Bailey was taken to North Okaloosa Medical Center before being transferred to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola in critical condition.
Deputies later found Heitger’s Durango in an alley near her home. Several items had been placed in front of the SUV to conceal it, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Heitger told deputies she hit Bailey accidentally.
Deputies reported that Heitger and Bailey may have been fighting over a man.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Driver arrested after striking pedestrian in Crestview