Catawba County, NC : Jogger critically injured in hit-and-run crash in Catawba County on Tuesday morning, March 24, 2015

A woman is charged after a jogger was struck by a car in Catawba County and flown to the hospital on Tuesday morning.

Jeanne Cook said "I'm sorry" as she was being handcuffed and taken into custody. She is charged with felony hit and run.

Around 6:40 a.m., troopers responded to Zion Church Road at Brookstone Drive where they found a male jogger, later identified as Robert Whitman, unresponsive and suffering from a severe head injury. He was running against traffic on a narrow shoulder when he was hit, officials say.

The driver, later identified as Cook, was found at a church about half a mile down the road. A witness noticed a compact KIA with front end damage in the church's parking lot and called officials.

Troopers located Cook who told them she was running late to work when she hit something. She said she thought it was a dog.

The State Bureau of Investigation assisted with the investigation and collected evidence from the scene. Cook's car was towed to Newton.

Neighbors say the area where the accident happened is not the best place to ride bicycles or jog. There is only a narrow strip of pavement that is, in some places, just inches wide between the white line showing the edge of the lane and the end of pavement.

"It is absolutely dangerous," said one woman. Officials said it is up to the drivers to pay attention to what may be in front of them.

Trooper Jason Goudelock told WBTV that no one believes Cook intended to hit Whitman, but that leaving the scene of an accident is a crime. The trooper said from the evidence they collected and circumstances surrounding the incident, "She should have known that what she hit was not a dog."

Officials say Whitman jogs the nearly four-mile route daily. He was flown from the scene to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. Troopers say Whitman has nine kids.

Source :
Father of 9 critically injured in Catawba Co. hit-and-run