Advertisement

The driver of an SUV fled after hitting a child in Hillsborough. Now she’s in jail, deputies say.

Deputies were looking for a driver who got out of her vehicle to check the damage, but didn’t help the teen she hit. Detectives arrested her Friday morning.
Nakeeba Ryan, 24, was arrested Friday morning and charged with leaving in the scene of a crash involving injury. Deputies say she struck a teenage girl with her SUV on 15th Street in Tampa Thursday evening and didn't stop to help or report the crash.
Nakeeba Ryan, 24, was arrested Friday morning and charged with leaving in the scene of a crash involving injury. Deputies say she struck a teenage girl with her SUV on 15th Street in Tampa Thursday evening and didn't stop to help or report the crash. [ Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office ]
Published Jan. 31, 2020|Updated Jan. 31, 2020

TAMPA — The driver in a hit-and-run crash that left a 14-year-old girl in critical condition was arrested Friday, deputies said.

Nakeeba Ryan, 24, of Tampa was driving a Chevrolet Equinox south on 15th Street near 122nd Avenue about 7:15 p.m. Thursday when she struck the teenager as the girl tried to cross the street in the middle of the block with friends, according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

Ryan stopped, got out of the SUV, walked over to the girl and then looked at the damage to the front of her SUV, the report says. She moved the Chevy to a parking lot, then left the scene without helping the girl or calling 911.

After leaving the scene, Ryan drove to her boyfriend’s house, where she again “reviewed the damage caused by the crash,” the report says.

The girl was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition Friday. Her name was not released by deputies.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office released these surveillance photos as they searched for the driver who struck a teen girl on 15th Street in Tampa Thursday evening. Deputies on Friday located the woman they say was driving, 24-year-old Nakeeba Ryan, and arrested her. The teen was listed in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital, deputies said.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office released these surveillance photos as they searched for the driver who struck a teen girl on 15th Street in Tampa Thursday evening. Deputies on Friday located the woman they say was driving, 24-year-old Nakeeba Ryan, and arrested her. The teen was listed in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital, deputies said. [ Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office ]

Ryan was located and interviewed by detectives Friday morning, when she admitted that she was driving the Chevy and the only person in the SUV at the time of the crash, deputies report.

“The defendant also admitted to knowing the crash occurred, which prompted her to stop at the scene,” the report says.

Ryan was arrested and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash with serious injury. Jail records list a home address in Tampa.

Ryan is employed by the Department of Children and Families, according to the Sheriff’s Office. More information on her employment with the department was not immediately available Friday.