Las Vegas woman accused in fatal hit-and-run thought she hit a dog

A woman accused of leaving the scene after striking and killing a pedestrian last week told police she thought she ran over a dog, not a person.

Amy McDermott, 36, was arrested Oct. 12 after tearfully admitting to police that she struck a pedestrian, later identified as 60-year-old Fadila Popovic, the day before, according to McDermott’s arrest report.

Police spoke to McDermott at her apartment complex twice. She initially denied any knowledge of the incident, but broke down in tears the second time, telling officers she was crying “because I’m guilty,” the report states. She said she believed she had run over a dog until she saw the story on the news.

Popovic and her husband were walking eastbound on St. Louis Avenue near 6th Street shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 11 when she was struck behind by a dark-colored SUV that then sped away, police said.

Popovic died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

The report states that witnesses and surveillance video helped police identify the SUV as a black 1999 Dodge Durango. Detectives found a Durango with a large dent on the hood at the St. Louis Suites, 525 E. St. Louis Ave., just over a quarter-mile away from the crash scene.

The owners of the vehicle, McDermott and a man who lived with her at the complex, initially told police that the crash happened in the complex’s parking lot, the report states. McDermott told police she went to a dental appointment earlier in the day, but that she didn’t drive through the area until after the crash had happened.

When detectives returned to the complex the next day, McDermott confessed.

McDermott was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on one count of failure to stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30.

Contact Max Michor at mmichor@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0365. Follow @MaxMichor on Twitter.