Baton Rouge Police Arrest 20-Year-Old in Deaths of 2 Engaged 21-Year-Olds

Q: How did a 20-year-old allegedly impaired driver manage to flee a devastating crash site before being tracked down blocks away?

Police have not publicly explained how Mia Dawson was able to leave the scene before officers found her, only that she allegedly struck the couple around 2:40 a.m. on Nicholson Drive and was located shortly afterward in the 1900 block of the same road. What is clear from the reported facts is that the crash happened in the early morning on a long corridor near LSU, and police say Dawson kept driving after veering onto the shoulder and hitting Leah Fonte and Shane Hirstius. Baton Rouge police later made contact with her several blocks away, suggesting the gap between the collision and her arrest was brief rather than a prolonged escape. The charge of hit-and-run indicates investigators believe she left without stopping as required. The additional charge of operating while impaired may also help explain the alleged decision to continue driving rather than remain at the crash site, though that remains an allegation until fully adjudicated. So the best supported answer is that she did not “get away” for long: police say she fled immediately after the impact, continued down Nicholson Drive, and was tracked down within minutes and within the same general roadway corridor. Authorities have not released further detail on whether officers used witness accounts, vehicle damage, radio dispatches or patrol spotting to find her. The investigation remains ongoing.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 19

Mia Dawson, 20, was arrested after police said she veered off a Baton Rouge road around 2:40 a.m. Sunday and struck Leah Fonte and Shane Hirstius as they walked on the shoulder.
Fonte, a 21-year-old LSU senior studying biological sciences, died at the scene; Hirstius, a 21-year-old volunteer firefighter and her fiancé, died later at a hospital.
Police booked Dawson on charges including operating while impaired, reckless operation, hit-and-run driving, vehicular homicide and vehicular negligent injuring.
River Ridge Volunteer Fire Department said Hirstius gave "110%" as a first responder, while LSU leaders offered condolences to Fonte's family as both communities mourned the couple.