WASHINGTON – The woman charged with felony hit-and-run in Fairfax County made her first court appearance Tuesday. Records show Gloria McMillan, 32, of Alexandria has a long history of crimes behind the wheel.
She pleaded guilty to reckless driving and driving on a suspended license in 2003. She served time in jail, completed community service and had her license suspended.
Then in 2010, McMillan was arrested again for driving with a revoked license.
Officials say she did appear to have a valid license when she allegedly hit and killed Shelinda Arrington, 21.
McMillan turned herself in after learning her black 2006 Chevrolet Trailblazer SUV had been identified by D.C. police, who used a partial tag number to narrow the search, Fairfax County police spokesman Don Gotthardt says.
“[The detective] literally sat down in front of a computer and ran every potential combination of numbers and came up with a series of vehicles,” Gotthardt says. “And then through a process of elimination identified a vehicle, and then that updated lookout was given to law enforcement and the vehicle was located in D.C.”
Fairfax County police then called McMillan, who surrendered at the Mount Vernon Police Station Monday evening.
Arrington died Friday evening after being crushed by a car following an argument. Witnesses tell police they saw Arrington exit her car and get into a heated discussion with the driver of an SUV shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Harrison Lane in the Mount Vernon area.
When officers arrived, they found the victim lying in the road unconscious. Detectives do not believe Arrington and McMillan knew each other before the incident.
Fairfax County police say there was an adult man and child in Gloria McMillan’s SUV when she allegedly hit Shelinda Arrington. Police Spokesman Don Gotthardt would not describe relationship between Gloria McMillan and her passengers.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein, Michelle Basch and Ari Ashe contributed to this report. Follow WTOP on Twitter.
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