Fiancé of woman run over by Amazon van addresses “heartbreaking” hit-and-run

WJZ, VIEWER HANDOUT, CNN

By Ashley Paul

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    BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The fiancé of a woman who was run over by an Amazon delivery van on Feb. 18 told WJZ the hit-and-run was heartbreaking and he’s relieved the injuries weren’t any worse.

Police said a woman, identified as 29-year-old Chelsey Douglas, was crossing the street in Baltimore’s Butchers Hill neighborhood around 9:30 p.m. when she was run over by the van. The driver, 26-year-old Jerome Allan Young Jr., of Baltimore County, turned himself in days after the incident.

Douglas has been released from the hospital, recovering from major injuries sustained from harrowing scene caught on a nearby ring camera video.

“It was heartbreaking, I cried,” said fiancé Rene Cardona. “There’s no words for how upsetting that footage is.”

Young has been released on bail and is expected to appear in court again on March 20. Court records show he was only charged with several traffic citations.

Young was initially charged with negligent and reckless driving, assault, reckless endangerment and failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving injury.

“It’s a miracle”

Cardona told WJZ the driver allegedly ran over Douglas’s head and upper body, leaving her with several fractures and serious injuries while she was walking home from her second day at a new job.

The couple moved to Baltimore a few months ago, according to Cardona.

“She’s one of those people that’s always there for you when you need it,” Cardona said. “If she’s your friend, she’s there.”

Cordona says this proves that while the accident may have broken Douglas’s bones, it won’t break her spirit.

“She’s here, she’s fully here,” Cardona said. “She’s Chelsey right now and we’re so blessed and it’s a miracle that she’s Chelsey.”

Attorney addresses Amazon hit-and-run

Attorney David Ellin said Douglas didn’t have health insurance after just starting a new job. He said civil action could be taken in the future.

“It’s a nightmare situation where you finally get a job, you start your new job, you’re on your second day, and then you’re catastrophically injured,” Ellin said. “At the time that this occurred, she did not have health insurance.”

Ellin says the concern is not about her injuries or hospital bills.

“When I asked her last night how she was doing, she asked me, ‘How’s the driver?’ That’s where he concern was, with the driver, because she was worried about him,” Ellin said.

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