Woman charged in deadly hit-and-run crash in Maplewood

Criminal charges have been filed against a St. Paul woman who allegedly hit two women with her car and dragged one of them to her death earlier this week in Maplewood.

Ashley Renee Couch, 34, faces one count each of second-degree murder and second-degree assault in connection with the death of 23-year-old Zakirrah Anderson.

Maplewood police first responded to the crash scene at the intersection of Larpenteur Avenue and Dieter Street around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday. Anderson was lying in the roadway with “catastrophic” injuries, a criminal complaint states; she was rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later. Another victim, a 22-year-old woman, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses told officers two rival groups of women had planned to meet at nearby Wakefield Park at 9 p.m. to fight because one of the groups had shot at the other earlier in the day.

A Snapchat video of the incident shows Anderson and the other victim standing outside a car parked on the north side of Larpenteur Avenue at the intersection with Prosperity Road. A Dodge Charger turned left from Prosperity and onto Larpenteur, striking the two women. The surviving victim was tossed into the air while Anderson was pulled under the Charger and dragged for several yards.

One witness told police they heard the suspect driver yell, “I’ll hit y’all’s ass” before hitting the victims.

Maplewood police investigators later got a tip from a “concerned citizen” who said Couch was the person driving the Charger involved in the crash.

Authorities issued an alert for a Charger registered to Couch. Police later discovered it in a St. Paul alleyway showing fresh damage, the complaint states. Investigators noted it appeared someone had tried to hide the vehicle, because its rear license plate had been removed and trash bins were placed in front of it.

Couch was placed under arrest and initially denied knowing anything about the incident. When shown the Snapchat video of the crash, she remarked that she can’t be seen driving the Charger. However, she admitted to being at the scene to watch a fight and said her baby was in the car.

Eventually, Couch said she “tried to pull off” when she heard the other group mentioning weapons and said she wasn’t going to stop because she was worried about them using mace on her car — the complaint notes a can of bear spray was found at the scene. She denied trying to hit anyone on purpose.

Couch is set to make her first court appearance on Monday.