Manslaughter charge filed in deadly Columbia hit-and-run crash

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia woman has been charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene of a fatal crash in the death of a woman who was killed on Paris Road in February 2020.

Stephanie S. Roberts is accused of hitting Hunter Sadler, 23, of Mexico, Missouri, on Feb 28, 2020, as he crossed the road. The vehicle that hit Sadler left the scene but police said they later found it at a residence and determined Roberts was driving. Police arrested her after the crash.

Roberts told officers that she was looking down at her phone when the crash happened and that she thought she had hit a deer, according to a probable cause statement filed in her case. Roberts told investigators she didn't think to contact police, according to the statement.

Prosecutors have recommended a $50,000 bond, according to court documents.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Roberts was in custody Wednesday afternoon.