Hamilton woman sentenced for hit-skip crash that killed pedestrian

A Hamilton woman was sentenced to 10 to 14 years in prison and three years of post-release control after she hit and killed a pedestrian earlier this year, according to court records.

Karen Ann Riegert, 62, who admitted to striking and killing a pedestrian in January on Millville Avenue, was sentenced Tuesday afternoon by Judge Dan Haughey in Butler County Common Pleas Court. She faced a maximum sentence of 15 years.

Hamilton police said Miranda Perry, 28, was walking in the 1300 block of Millville about 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 20 and was hit by a vehicle that fled the scene. Perry, a mother of a 5-year-old daughter, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Riegert was arrested shortly after the crash and indicted by a Butler County grand jury for aggravated vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony, a second count under the same statute that is a third-degree felony and failure to stop after an accident, a third-degree felony.

In March, Riegert pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated vehicular homicide and failure to stop after an accident. Riegert has been housed in the Butler County Jail since her arrest in lieu of $100,000 bond.

Karen Ann Riegert BUTLER COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

icon to expand image

Riegert was driving west and weaving on Jan. 20, according to the Hamilton police report. She went off the right side of the road and left of center several times, then struck Perry and fled, police said.

When officers located Riegert at her home on Curtis Avenue, she told them she had been to the Towne Pub and had four mixed drinks, according to the police report. She told police she ate Salisbury steak and drank milk when she got home.

About the Authors