Woman jailed after fleeing injury accident

A 26-year-old Gardnerville woman was jailed on $26,355 bail Sunday, accused of a hit-and-run accident which caused serious injury to a Reno man.

Kimberly E. Garcia was charged with failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving personal injury or death and driving without a valid license.

She also tested positive for marijuana and said she had smoked March 15.

She is to appear in East Fork Justice Court today. Lawyer Tod Young was appointed to represent her.

The victim, Claude Kelly, 60, of Reno, was taken by helicopter to Renown Regional Medical Center with leg injuries.

"The information that was provided by troopers was that the victim was taken by CareFlight and was being prepped for surgery for possible amputation of his leg," District Attorney Mark Jackson said Monday.

Kelly was traveling south on Foothill Road at 1:20 p.m. Sunday near the intersection with of Sierra Country Drive when the accident occurred.

According to Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Blair Harkleroad, a white pickup reportedly driven by Garcia of Gardnerville swerved into the southbound lane and struck the motorcycle.

Kelly was thrown to the ground and Garcia fled the scene without stopping despite a flat tire and damage to her truck.

Douglas County sheriff's deputies located the vehicle about three hours later at an address in the 1300 block of Kimmerling Road.

According to the report, Garcia drove to a church where a man helped her change the damaged tire. She then went to a store where she purchased a replacement and returned home.

Garcia reportedly told an officer that she looked down at her cell phone and "hit something."

According to the report, she later recanted the story and said she didn't know what happened to cause the accident.

Garcia was convicted in October of driving under the influence stemming from an arrest nearly a year earlier. Her blood-alcohol content at the time of her Nov. 6, 2005, arrest was .139, over the .08 legal limit for driving in Nevada.