YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A woman accused of striking a bicyclist and driving away on Sunday turned herself in on Friday.
Kailey Carpenter, the 25-year-old accused in the hit-and-run, was given a bond during a hearing in York County on Friday. And the victim’s family is not happy.
The crash happened on Highway 55 in Clover on Sunday. Carpenter is accused of hitting and killing 31-year-old Anthony Raheem Parker. She now faces felony charges.
“He had so much time left to live and he leaves behind a 3-year-old girl who is asking for her daddy who doesn’t understand where he is,” Tracy Laney, Parker’s aunt, said.
The family was pushing for no bond in this case. Prosecutors said the natured of the crime proves the suspect is a flight risk.
Parker’s mother, Melinda Latta, told Channel 9’s Tina Terry that his death has left his daughter heartbroken.
“She loves her daddy,” Latta said. “She loves him. She’s already asking if she can go to heaven to see him.”
One South Carolina Highway Trooper in court said the crash did serious damage, but Carpenter kept driving.
“Ms. Carpenter struck him, causing significant damage and a huge cave in the windshield from his bike,” he said. “It’s very obvious that something large was hit very hard.”
Prosecutors said she still kept driving.
“The defendant didn’t notify anybody, didn’t tell anybody, didn’t report it and took off,” prosecutors said.
And that’s one of the things that upsets Parker’s family.
“There was potential he could have survived,” Laney said. “I don’t know, we don’t know because he was left there to die.”
Highway Patrol was able to track Carpenter down after an investigation. And she turned herself in on Friday.
Her attorney said Carpenter thought she’d hit a deer that night.
“The family feels awful, she feels awful. Nobody ever wants to see someone lose their life,” her attorney said.
Her family said she never would have left otherwise.
“She is honest and she is good, and I know she had no idea. If there’s anything we could do to right this wrong, she would.”
Carpenter was given a $75,000 bond. If she is found guilty, she could face up to 25 years in prison.
WATCH: ‘Disturbing’: Clover community wants answers, justice after hit-and-run that killed father
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