‘Exceptional’ Editor Was Killed in Alleged Hit-and-Run Crash, and a Woman Is Now in Custody

The grieving staff of a Virginia magazine is in shock and disbelief this week after a promising young editor was killed in a hit-and-run crash on Monday afternoon while walking home from work.

Hope Cartwright was struck by a vehicle that drove away after the collision as she crossed the street near her magazine’s office around 5:30 p.m. Monday, according to local reports. She later died at a hospital from her injuries.

Cartwright was 23.

Investigators with the Richmond Police Department later identified and located the driver, Latesha Coleman, using security footage that captured the crash, according to local reports. Coleman, 41, was arrested and charged with felony hit-and-run.

“We are devastated,” editor-in-chief Madeline Mayhood said, mourning Cartwright’s death. Cartwright had been with the publication for nearly two years after graduating from Northwestern University.

“She was an exceptional member of our team, despite her young age,” Mayhood said. “She came to us as a quiet and shy 21-year-old, fresh out of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern. Fortunately for me, she blossomed into a real leader, ace project manager, visionary storyteller and ace editor — a real rockstar. Her death, at 23, is unfathomable. We’re all still in disbelief and shock.”

Mayhood, who hired the Michigan native, added that Cartwright “was just a gift” in the newsroom.

“She was just so charming and lovely, and she just engaged in every single assignment,” she said. “She just got it.”

The crash occurred at the corner of East Cary and South Second streets in downtown Richmond, according to local reports.

“She was in the crosswalk as that car turned,” neighbor Ari Abad, who captured footage of the crash on a front-door Ring device, said. “It seemed impossible to miss the pedestrian, because she was directly in front of the car.”

Local reports said some of Cartwright’s coworkers witnessed the immediate aftermath and rushed to help after recognizing her. They stayed with her until paramedics arrived.

Abad described the scene as heartbreaking.

“I happened to see some of her coworkers,” Abad said. “Their coworker is no longer there. Her desk is there. There’s stuff still there. Her lunch box was still on the road for a few hours after she got hit.”

Coleman made her first court appearance Wednesday, where a judge denied bail, according to local reports. Her next court appearance is scheduled for March 10.