Manuel Gallegos, 39, of Waukegan.

Authorities say a driver has been arrested after a woman was left with serious injuries when she was struck by a pickup truck that fled the scene in Gurnee.

The Gurnee Fire Department and Gurnee Police Department responded around 7:35 p.m. on December 3 to a call of a vehicle versus pedestrian crash at Grand Avenue and Waveland Avenue in Gurnee.

Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Nicholas Shepherd said officers arrived and found a woman lying in the roadway while bleeding.

A bystander had stopped, called 911 and was directing traffic around the woman after finding her body in the middle of the street.

The woman told police she was dropped off at the bus stop and was crossing Grand Avenue to get to her home, Shepherd said.

She was then struck by a car and did not remember what happened after.

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Medical staff reported the victim had suffered brain swelling, two broken legs, a broken hip, lacerations to her face and was vomiting blood.

Shepherd said video surveillance was recovered which showed the victim in the center turn lane when a Dodge Dakota pickup truck struck her as it exited a business.

The woman was thrown a short distance and landed in the traffic lane. The vehicle reversed and sped away from the scene.

Shepherd said the driver was seen on surveillance video outside of his truck prior to the crash at a nearby business and he was later identified as Manuel Gallegos, 39, of Waukegan.

Gallegos was charged on December 20 with failure to report a crash involving injury, a Class 2 felony, and a warrant was issued.

He was arrested on the warrant and booked in the Lake County Jail on January 2.

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“She was left in the street with no help while the defendant drove away and left her there while a Good Samaritan ultimately responded, called the police and himself, not the defendant, directed traffic,” Shepherd said.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Gallegos pending trial.

A public defender for Gallegos objected to the petition being filed and argued the charge against his client is non-detainable.

Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim agreed with prosecutors that the offense is detainable and granted the petition to hold Gallegos, saying the man is a danger to the community.

The judge also said that while Gallegos does not have a significant criminal history, he does have past offenses for driving while license suspended or revoked.

Gallegos is scheduled to appear in court again on January 27 for a preliminary hearing.

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