- A Des Moines woman was charged with attempted murder after she told police that she hit a teenage girl with her car because she “was a Mexican.”
- Police said the teenager was walking to an after-school activity on December 9 when 42-year-old Nicole Marie Poole Franklin Franklin drove onto the sidewalk, hit her, and then fled the scene.
- Clive Police Chief Michael G. Venema said during a news conference that the police are looking into a hate crime charge.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
An Iowa woman has been charged with attempted murder after admitting she intentionally ran over a 14-year-old girl with her vehicle on December 9.
According to a press release from the Clive Police Department, 42-year-old Nicole Marie Poole Franklin from Des Moines had been arrested on other charges when she was interviewed at the Polk County Jail.
During the interview, she not only confessed to being the one behind the wheel but also said she hit the teenager because she “was a Mexican.” After her confession, Franklin went on to make a series of derogatory statements about Latinos to the detective, according to police.
The teenager, who is not named in reports because she is a minor, told Des Moines’ KCCI that she was walking on a sidewalk on her way to a basketball game when she was ambushed by the car.
"I don't remember the impact, I just remember the car coming toward me," the girl told the outlet. "I didn't do anything, I'm just a girl just walking to a basketball game."
The car fled the scene. The teenage girl suffered numerous injuries but, according to a report by Iowa's WOI, was able to return to school a week later.
About an hour after she hit the teenager, Franklin was arrested at a West Des Moines gas station where she called an employee and customers racial slurs and threw items at the employee, according to KCCI.
Franklin is being held at the Polk County Jail on a $1 million bond. Clive Police Chief Michael G. Venema said during a news conference that the police are looking into a hate crime charge.
"I mean, in the most energetic terms possible, that there is no place in our community (or any other) for this kind of hatred and violence," Venema said. "We are committed to supporting the victim and his family and working diligently with them to seek justice."
Read more:
New Zealanders handed in 50,000 guns after the country's assault weapons ban