St. Cloud Woman Charged After Monticello Hit-and-Run Injures Man, Kills His Dog

(KNSI) — A 62-year-old St. Cloud woman accused of hitting a man who was out walking his dog and then leaving the scene has been charged in Wright County District Court.

According to the criminal complaint, deputies responded to a crash at an intersection on County Road 18 in Monticello around 7:30 a.m. on July 10th. Deputies found a man and his dog lying in the road. The man told deputies he was crossing the street when a vehicle hit them and kept going. He was taken to the hospital with a fractured back, ribs and right hand, which required surgery. His dog, Jack, did not survive.

Court papers say investigators found a broken side mirror at the scene and ran the serial number, which showed it was used on Subaru Foresters from model years 2014 to 2018. They also checked surveillance video from the Monticello Public Works pumping facility, about 200 feet from the crash scene. The video shows a dark blue Subaru Forester heading east on County Road 18 roughly a minute before the man was hit. A crime analyst with the Elk River Police Department identified the vehicle and tracked down the owner, Denise Lagou, who worked nearby.

Investigators viewed footage from Lagou’s workplace and saw her pull into the parking lot about five minutes after the crash, get out, walk around to the passenger side, survey the damage and then walk into work.

A detective spoke with Lagou, who said she thought she hit a deer. The detective told her what she hit was not a deer, and when asked what happened, she said she wanted to speak with a lawyer.

A coworker contacted police and said she and Lagou were on the phone at the time of the crash and that she heard a loud impact. The coworker says Lagou “freaked out” and claimed what she hit had come off a truck in front of her.

Lagou is charged with one felony count of criminal vehicular operation causing substantial bodily harm and leaving the scene of a crash.

County Attorney Brian Lutes says the victim is an 84-year-old Vietnam veteran.

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