Raleigh police make two arrests in hit-and-run that killed a 12-year-old girl

Six months after a 12-year-old girl was hit and killed as she tried to cross Hillsborough Street, police say they have charged two people.

Police announced Thursday morning that they have arrested Blanca Iris De Mari Escobar-Roblero and charged her with felony hit and run resulting in a death. They also charged Wilmer Morales-Roblero with felony accessory after the fact to hit and run. Both were also charged with felony obstructing justice.

The husband and wife “collaborated to destroy the evidence by burning the vehicle,” police say in an arrest warrant. The couple live in Cary.

Samantha Briggs was hit the day after Thanksgiving as she and four others were attempting to cross Hillsborough near Bashford Road, just east of Cary, after a trip to a nearby Sheetz convenience store. She had turned 12 the day before.

Police say the driver was going eastbound on Hillsborough and drove off after hitting Samantha at about 45 mph. Police concluded, based on debris left at the scene, that the car was a white Honda Civic EX, model year 2006, 2007 or 2008.

Police had twice handed out leaflets at the scene of the collision, most recently on May 12. They say a tip from that second checkpoint allowed them to make an arrest. Police said they would release more information about the case “at the appropriate time.”

The speed limit along that stretch of Hillsborough is 45 mph, and the road is three lanes wide, with two travel lanes and a center turn lane. Police say the driver swerved into the center turn lane, where Samantha may have paused on her way across. It was about 7:30 p.m., after dark, and there are no crosswalks or streetlights nearby.

Samantha was one of 29 pedestrians killed in Raleigh or just outside the city limits last year. That’s more than three times the annual average in the city since 2006.