Hit-and-run suspect caught
By Jack Mitchell
Montgomery Advertiser

A Prattville woman who disappeared while facing charges in a hit-and-run case was arrested Tuesday by authorities in Virginia Beach, Va.

Ashley Rogers, 34, of 104 Melmar Drive was taken into custody at a hotel by Virginia Beach police, District Attorney Randall Houston said.

Rogers failed to appear in Autauga County Circuit Court on Oct. 18 for a bond revocation hearing. She had pleaded guilty to assault and leaving the scene of an accident in the Sept. 6, 2002, crash that left Jamie Walker of Independence in a vegetative state.

U.S. marshals, the FBI and the Alabama Department of Public Safety assisted the Virginia Beach police in the arrest.

"She is basically looking at being sentenced in the hit-and-run," said Houston. "She will also face a failure to appear contempt charge."

Houston said Rogers will be returned to Alabama, though it remains to be seen how quickly that will happen.

"It's going to depend on whether or not she decides to fight extradition," he said. "We're hoping she'll be home for Christmas."

Kay Walker of Prattville, Jamie Walker's mother, said she was happy to learn that Rogers is back in police custody.

"Our prayers have been answered," she said. "She can't hurt anybody else. That has been our biggest fear."

Jamie Walker, who was riding a motorcycle in the 2002 accident, suffered severe brain damage and lost a leg in the wreck.

Rogers, who was out on bond in the Walker case, faced the bond revocation hearing after she admitted to running into a mailbox with her car and fleeing the scene in October. The investigating officer also reported smelling alcohol on Rogers' breath. One of the conditions of her bond was that she not drink alcohol.

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