Source: WCCO

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (WCCO) ― Click to enlarge1 of 2
The investigation found LeVasseur crossed against the red light, so Hunter didn't cause the crash. That's why he was only charged for leaving the scene. At most, he could spend a year in jail.

Joan LeVasseur was walking to the Cub Foods on Cedar in Apple Valley to get some cat food the night she was hit.

Almost five months after a Twin Cities woman was hit in a crosswalk, a man is charged for leaving the scene of the crash.

Eric Hunter, 40, was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor for the crash that happened on March 6. Joan LeVasseur, 26, was removed from life support a week later.

LeVasseur was walking to the Cub Foods on Cedar in Apple Valley to get some cat food the night she was hit. No one ever came forward to say they hit her. Days later and less than a mile away, Apple Valley police found a Ford Focus at Hunter's home in Rosemount. They found blood on the windshield.

When police talked to Hunter's co-workers they told them he'd been parking on a hill at work so no one would see his car. At one point someone heard Hunter say "they're going to take that girl off life support."

The investigation found LeVasseur crossed against the red light, so Hunter didn't cause the crash. That's why he was only charged for leaving the scene. At most, he could spend a year in jail.

Bob Boever is Joan's stepfather and can't believe the possible punishment.

"We were hoping than we could get on with getting Joanie some justice. That idea didn't last to long," he said.

Hunter hasn't said why he left that night, only that he didn't see her in the dark until it was too late.

"To leave your child for dead on the road is something that should be a stronger punishment. I think any mother and father in Minnesota would understand that," said Boever.

Hunter has also been charged for driving on a suspended license. Accident reconstruction teams determined he was not speeding at the time of the collision. He's being held on a $80,000 bail. Hunter is scheduled to be back in court in Sept. 21.