EVERETT, Wash. — A female suspect is now in custody after allegedly being involved in a hit-and-run that left an 80-year-old woman in Everett dead in August.
On Aug. 15, a silver Ford Escape hit 80-year-old Patti Oman at the 5400 block of Broadway Avenue and then drove off, leaving her on the side of the road. Witnesses attempted to help her, but she ultimately died of her injuries four days later, according to probable cause documents.
A witness who was behind the Ford at the time of the incident provided the 911 dispatcher with information about the vehicle and an Everett Transit bus captured the vehicle on the side of the road, including images of the suspect.
On Sept. 9, the Ford was found and seized by authorities with a warrant. Probable cause documents say evidence from that vehicle matched that of the Ford involved in the hit-and-run.
On Sept. 22, a patrol officer found a stolen vehicle and recognized the driver of that vehicle as the suspect from the previous hit-and-run.
The suspect, a woman in her 30s, was arrested and booked into the Snohomish County Jail on one count of hit-and-run that resulted in death.
The woman is being held on $100,000 bail.
Prosecutors must file charges by Tuesday at 5 p.m. or the woman will be released.
Oman's niece, Sarah Storm, said her aunt wasn't one to take old age sitting down.
"She was always looking for the next adventure even in her older age," said Storm. "She was thinking of the future in her twilight years and what more she could do. It was like having another mother or grandmother figure. She was amazing."
Oman was out for her regular walk to the neighborhood convenience store. On her way back, just a few blocks from home, she was hit and killed.
"For something so routine and so normal for her, to have her taken from us is so hard to wrap our heads around," said Storm. "If it had been a few minutes later, with a more responsible person driving by she would have gotten home."
"To hit a frail, elderly lady and leave her there to die, it kind of dampens my faith in humanity for someone to do that," said Storm.
Oman was one of four sisters, an indigenous Alaskan, and a retired real estate agent.
Even at 80 years old, she felt there was still a lot of living to do -- to the point that she still bought lottery tickets.
She bought one at a convenience store just a few blocks from her home about 15 minutes before she died.
"It's a very cruel irony," said Storm.