RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Thanks to a tip from the public, two people were arrested on Thursday for their role in a fatal hit and run that happened last fall, according to the Raleigh Police Department.
CBS 17 previously reported on Nov. 25, 2022, police responded to a wreck involving a 12-year-old girl. Police learned 12-year-old Samantha Briggs was attempting to cross the road near the 6500 block of Hillsborough Street and was not in the crosswalk.
According to arrest warrants obtained by CBS 17, 27-year-old Blanca Iris de Mari Escobar-Roblero was driving east on Hillsborough Street when she struck Briggs. Escobar-Roblero drove away from the scene without rendering aid to the 12-year-old, according to the arrest warrant.
The warrants say called her husband, 26-year-old Wilmer Morales-Roblero, to help burn the car to destroy evidence.
Search warrants said Morales-Roblero took the vehicle involved in the crash to a location where he burned it. An arrest warrant for him said this was done in “secrecy and malice.”
Police say Briggs was transported to the hospital where she died from her injuries.
After the wreck, police began looking for a 2006 to 2008 white Hyundai hybrid.
In December 2022 and on May 12, Raleigh police passed out flyers to generate tips leading to find the driver responsible for the crash.
On Thursday, police arrested Escobar-Roblero and Morales-Roblero after a tip was generated from the May 12 checkpoint.
Escobar-Roblero was charged felony hit and run causing serious injury or death and felony obstructing justice.
Morales-Roblero was charged with felony accessory after the fact- felony hit and run and felony obstructing justice.
During a first appearance Thursday, it was revealed that Escobar-Roblero admitted to being the sole driver. Prosecutors said they tracked phone records to the scene of the crime and to a location in Franklin county where the car was burned.
Briggs family said they were shocked to find out the details.
“We’ve been struggling for these last six months,” Briggs’ sister Dakisha Holmes said. “I was ready to figure out who did it. Because we had so many descriptions, we had so many stories and now everything is like out…Like why? Why not stop? Why burn the car? Why try to cover it? It’s just why.”
The judge gave Escobar-Roblero a $50,000 bond and Morales-Roblero a $25,000 bond.
“I think it should be more. It’s not enough,” Briggs’ aunt Catina Blue said. “Everyone is taking it hard and it’s unbelievable that this would happen.”
Morales-Roblero is a Guatemalan citizen and has an outstanding warrant for deportation from Arizona.
