Charges filed after woman killed when she fell off car hood

The Associated Press//January 6, 2015//

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LEXINGTON (AP) — Deputies in Lexington County have charged a woman with reckless homicide after the car she was driving ran over another woman who had been riding on the hood.

Lexington County Sheriff Lewis McCarty said deputies arrested 20-year-old Katie McKenzie Leavitt at the Lexington County Detention Center. Leavitt had been arrested on Sunday on a number of charges stemming from the incident.

According to arrest warrants, Leavitt was driving near her home Saturday night when she drove over 20-year-old Laura Diane Merck of Gaston. The sheriff’s office said Merck had been riding on the hood of Leavitt’s car after a birthday party for Leavitt at a home near the accident scene.

Merck died on Sunday.

Leavitt is free after posting bond of $19,042. It’s not known if she has an attorney.