Video above: St. Pete police identify 70-year-old woman killed in hit-and-run
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A 70-year-old St. Petersburg woman killed in a hit-and-run crash was reported missing before her death, according to newly-released court documents.
Karen Moorefield was hit by a SUV on Jan. 3 while walking across 22nd Ave. North near 41st Street.
Moorefield lived in a nearby neighborhood and was reported missing before the crash. She was pronounced dead at the site of the collision.
The driver who hit Moorefield sped off after the crash. The incident wasn’t captured on video and there were no witnesses to give a description of the car, which was believed to be a Cadillac.
Officers collected various pieces of the vehicle and took them to a dealership on Jan. 4, hoping employees could identify the model. They determined the parts belonged to a 2013-2016 Cadillac RX.
On Jan. 7, while canvasing neighborhoods searching for the SUV, they found the same model with front-end damage parked in a St. Pete neighborhood. Officers reported finding “a skin patch and other biological material” on the hood of the vehicle.
Interviews with family members and neighbors pointed officers toward Alicia Carralero, 60, according to documents filed in Pinellas County Court on March 1. Carralero was named in the search warrant, but has not been charged with a crime.
While searching the SUV, officers swabbed various parts of the vehicle for DNA evidence. They obtained a buccal swab from Carralero later that month to compare.
