Driver Berates Woman, Then Runs Her Down In Simi Valley

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) – Police are searching for a female hit-and-run driver who screamed unprovoked insults at a strange while she was walking in Simi Valley Wednesday night, and then intentionally sped up and slammed into her with her car outside a strip mall.

At this time, detectives are not calling the case a hate crime, Simi Valley police told CBS2 Thursday. The victim did not know the suspect prior to the collision.

The 26-year-old victim was walking with a man in the 2200 block of Tapo Street at around 8:43 p.m. when a woman slowed down alongside and began yelling obscenities at them both, police said.

They ignored the insults and continued walking, police said, at which point the driver then pulled up just ahead outside a Joann Fabrics store at 2242 Tapo St.

As the two neared her car, the driver accelerated and slammed into the woman, sending her flying several feet. She then sped off.

The victim was taken to Simi Valley Hospital with abrasions to her back and a head laceration. She was treated and released.

The suspect was described as a white woman driving a silver colored sedan. She was last seen speeding southbound towards Alpine Street. No surveillance photos were immediately released.

Anyone with information should call police at 805-583-6950.