AUBURN — Police arrested a 65-year-old Auburn man Saturday after a tip led officers to the man following a hit-and-run early Thursday that sent an Auburn woman to the hospital in serious condition.
The 22-year-old woman was walking near 32 Riverside Drive at about 4:15 a.m. when she was hit by a vehicle, which then left the scene, according to police.
The woman was taken to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston and later Maine Medical Center in Portland for treatment of serious head injuries, according to a statement released by Deputy Chief Timothy A. Cougle of the Auburn Police Department.
Cougle said Auburn police received video from a local business that captured the incident on surveillance cameras, but the suspect’s vehicle could not be identified. Police also canvassed the area and a request for the public’s assistance was posted to the Auburn Police Department’s Facebook account.
“The community went to work, providing numerous tips and other information for police to follow up on,” Cougle said in the statement.
On Saturday, a tip provided the location and matching vehicle description for a 2011 Subaru Impreza.
“The vehicle had damage consistent with a vehicle vs. pedestrian crash,” Cougle wrote in his statement.
Police impounded the vehicle and identified the operator.
They arrested Michael Fowler and charged him with aggravated leaving the scene of a personal injury accident, a class C offense. The charge is aggravated because it involved serious bodily injury, according to Cougle.
Fowler was being held Sunday at the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn on $2,500 bail.
The woman remained hospitalized Sunday in serious but stable condition, according to police.
“We would like to thank the citizens of our community for their assistance with this investigation,” Cougle wrote. “Social media can be a powerful and effective tool when used in a productive manner like this. The video posted for this case was shared over 500 times and viewed by more than 28,000 people in less than 24 hours.”
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