The woman who died while riding in a car that crashed late at night over the weekend in northeast Minneapolis was identified Monday, and the driver who ran from the scene remains at large.
Ria Patel, a 20-year-old junior at the University of St. Thomas, was killed in the wreck about 3:50 a.m. Sunday near the southwest edge of Hillside Cemetery at the intersection of Stinson Boulevard NE. and Ridgway Parkway, a family acquaintance told the Star Tribune.
The Hennepin County medical examiner's office said Patel died from head injuries.
Police said they are still looking for the driver, whose car hit a traffic signal post. Authorities have not identified him. The car is registered to a 22-year-old man with a Shakopee address.
Before attending St. Thomas, Patel graduated from the International School of Minnesota in Eden Prairie, said Vijay Dixit, who knew Patel because her family attended his distracted-driving talks.
When officers arrived at the crash scene, they found Patel trapped, lacking a pulse and not breathing, according to emergency dispatch audio.
A witness told police that the driver ran before officers showed up.
An officer said a man's identification was found near the woman, and it led police to a home in the 2900 block of Randolph Street NE., the dispatch audio said. Police learned that the man had left that address intoxicated and with his girlfriend.
