22-05-2025
Asheville woman drove 'several miles' after crash that killed pedestrian, warrant alleges
ASHEVILLE - An Asheville woman faces a felony charge after she allegedly drove several miles following an accident on Tunnel Road that left a pedestrian dead May 21.
At 9:18 p.m. Wednesday night, North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers were dispatched to a crash involving a pedestrian just outside Asheville city limits on U.S. 70, also known as Tunnel Road, according to Sgt. Haley Onderdonk. An initial investigation showed that Robert Lee Armentrout, 56, of Hendersonville, ran into the roadway near Cardinal Ridge Drive and was struck by a 2014 Jeep Patriot driven by Caroline Elizabeth Laliberte, 24, of Asheville. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, Onderdonk said.
Laliberte left the scene and drove for "several miles to a friend's house before she had her friend call 911," according to her arrest warrant. The driver allegedly admitted to knowing she was in a wreck and had hit "something" but "wanted to make it back to her friend's house," the warrant says.
Onderdonk said that Laliberte left the scene, but did notify authorities and met with law enforcement. She was arrested early in the morning May 22 and charged with felony hit-and-run inflicting serious injury or death, according to court records.
She is being held in the Buncombe County Detention Facility under a $30,000 bond, or $3,000 to a bondsman. Her court-appointed public defender declined to comment at this time.
This story will be updated.
More: Weaverville woman charged in April fatal hit-and-run on Patton Ave
More: UPS driver charged with felony hit-and-run in pedestrian death thought he 'hit a deer'
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@ and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Driver charged after pedestrian struck, killed east of Asheville: SHP
