42-year-old Nicole Marie Poole Franklin of Des Moines, Iowa was charged with attempted murder after running over a 14-year-old girl because she “was a Mexican,” according to police in Clive, approximately nine miles outside of the state capitol.
Franklin was arrested on unrelated charges when she admitted to law enforcement that she hit the unidentified teen with her vehicle on December 9. The girl was walking to Indian Hills Junior High when Franklin’s vehicle drove onto the sidewalk, running her over and fleeing the scene.
“I don’t remember the impact, I just remember the car coming toward me,” the girl told CNN affiliate KCCI-TV. She stated she was going to a basketball game at the time of the assault. “I didn’t do anything, I’m just a girl just walking to a basketball game.”
Franklin admitted she was the driver during her interview with detectives and said she intentionally struck the girl because she “was a Mexican”. Franklin then reportedly “made a series of derogatory statements about Latinos,” police said.
According to CNN, Franklin was charged with assault in a separate incident the same day after police said she used racist terms toward a clerk and customers at a West Des Moines convenience store and threw items at the clerk, KCCI reported. The incident took place about an hour and a half after the hit-and-run.
Authorities are working to determine if Franklin running the girl over can be considered a hate crime, Clive Police Chief Michael Venema said during a news conference. “We’re going to present all of that information to the prosecutors and ultimately they will make the determination on what crimes to prosecute,” Venema said.
“There is no place in our community (or any other) for this kind of hatred and violence,” Venema continued. “We are committed to supporting the victim and (her) family and working diligently with them to seek justice.”
According to charging documents, Franklin is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on December 30.
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