Raleigh woman was on her phone when she hit mother and child in Walmart parking lot

A Raleigh woman faces felony charges in connection with a hit-and-run that sent a mother and her 10-month-old son to the hospital in late May.

According to a search warrant, Raleigh police were able to identify 43-year-old Jeronica Rogers as the driver in a hit-and-run at a Walmart parking lot on New Bern Avenue and New Hope Road. 

Based on security footage obtained by police, Rogers was exiting the parking lot in her Chevrolet Equinox at a high speed, when she struck a mother holding her child while they were crossing the road. The car was seen driving away from the scene.

At the time, police could only make out the type of car and parts of the license plate.

Through additional highway footage, police noticed that the SUV had a broken windshield, distinguishable rims that had “more spokes than most tires have” and a back windshield wiper stuck in the “up” position. 

After further investigation into the car, and clearer footage showing the full plate, police matched the license number to Rogers and her address, obtaining the rights to issue a warrant to seize and tow the car. 

On June 26, Rogers called police asking about her car. When asked if she was driving in the Walmart parking lot on the day of the hit-and-run, she said she thought she might have hit something. 

Rogers admitted that she was playing a casino app on her phone at the time while driving. 

This statement prompted police to arrest Rogers and charge her with two felony counts of a hit-and-run, inflicting serious injury. 

She was also charged with reckless driving, driving with a cancelled/revoked/suspended tag, driving with no liability insurance and driving with unsafe tires. 

Rogers was also arrested in February on felony charges of animal cruelty after being accused of killing six guinea pigs by “intentional deprivation” of food. 

A $250,000 bond was set for her arrest in the hit-and-run.