mugshot of Nitta George. Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE. DEPARTMENT.
ST. THOMAS — The woman accused earlier this week of taking her friend’s vehicle without permission and damaging it has now been hit with additional charges after police linked her to a hit-and-run collision near the Fresh Off the Grill Restaurant on St. Thomas that left a pedestrian with life-threatening injuries.
Nitta George, who was first arrested on Tuesday in connection with the unauthorized use of a friend’s vehicle, is now facing negligent driving, failure to report an auto collision, and leaving the scene of an auto collision.
Police say Ms. George and another individual took the vehicle from where it had been parked at the ferry dock on St. Thomas. The owner, who regularly leaves her car there during her commute from St. John, had allowed her friends to sit inside the vehicle while she worked her shift. Instead, they drove away without permission.
According to court records, Ms. George was behind the wheel when the vehicle headed west along Emile “Milo” Francis Drive. Near the entrance of the Merchant Market Access Road, she reportedly attempted to overtake another car but lost control. The vehicle veered off the roadway and struck a pedestrian walking on the shoulder of the eastbound lane.
The impact was severe, with the victim thrown roughly 30 feet into the parking lot of Fresh Off the Grill. Witnesses told police that the driver did not stop after the collision. Officers later recovered evidence from the scene, including the cover and glass from a wing mirror believed to have been left behind by the fleeing vehicle.
Police were able to identify the suspect after a witness provided a description of the car. When Ms. George returned to St. John, she reportedly turned herself in to authorities and was positively identified by the vehicle’s owner as the person who had taken it without permission.
The injured man was taken to the Schneider Regional Medical Center suffering from life-threatening injuries, including trauma to the brain, left eye, ribs, shoulders, and spine, as well as a broken leg. Relatives later confirmed to the Consortium that the victim was flown off-island for further treatment.
Following her arrest, Ms. George appeared before Magistrate Paula Norkaitis on Thursday, where the court found probable cause to uphold the new charges. Bail in this matter was set at $25,000, to be signed as an unsecured bond. Her release conditions remain unchanged from her previous case.
The new charges stem from the same incident reported on Tuesday, when the vehicle’s owner first contacted police after discovering her car missing. In that earlier complaint, the woman told officers she had received a call from Ms. George’s phone while at work. A man’s voice, which she did not recognize, informed her that the car had been in an accident and the windshield was damaged. He also reportedly said the vehicle “may have hit somebody” but that those driving had not stopped to check.
The distraught owner said she was too overwhelmed to process what she’d been told while still at work. When she finished her shift, she realized that her car had indeed been taken without authorization. After several unsuccessful attempts to contact her friends, the woman went to the Leander Jurgen Command police station in Cruz Bay, St. John, to report the incident.
She later received another phone call from her other friend’s number, but again, it was a man’s voice on the line. The caller claimed to be a friend of Ms. George but hung up abruptly after police identified themselves. The woman’s father eventually located the missing vehicle in the Amalie Terrace area of St. Thomas.
Ms. George was arrested that same evening and initially charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle and tampering with a vehicle. At that time, she was held in custody and brought before Magistrate Norkaitis on Wednesday. The judge set bail at $25,000, allowing her to post 10 percent in cash to secure release from pre-trial detention.
As part of her conditions of release, Ms. George was ordered to surrender her travel documents and learner’s permit, and to stay at least 20 feet away from the victim at all times.
Both cases—stemming from the unauthorized use of the vehicle and the subsequent hit-and-run incident—are scheduled to be heard on October 24, when Ms. George is expected to be arraigned.
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