A hit-and-run investigation is now underway after Peoria police found the body of a woman on Loop 101 in Peoria.
Just prior to 3 a.m. Dec. 19, the Peoria Police Department was dispatched to a report of a dead body found in a car at an offramp of the southbound Loop 101 in the Gravel Tree area near the Peoria Avenue exit.
After arriving, police found a 33-year-old woman outside the vehicle. She was pronounced deceased on-site, and the cause of death has not been determined.
State troopers located a two-door sedan with doors opened and hazards flashing. The driver’s side window and mirror were damaged as well.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety is heading up the investigation of the incident and is looking for the driver and the other vehicle involved in the hit-and-run.
“Detectives are looking for a Dodge Challenger, 2010 to 2014 year range, unknown color, to be damaged on the driver side of that vehicle,” Arizona Department of Safety Media Relations Specialist Bart Graves said.
“Specific damage to the front grille and the hood over the front grille of the run vehicle. The left window, the left mirror and the driver’s mirror to the victim’s vehicle is damaged, which indicates that this vehicle may have contacted the disabled vehicle.”
Investigators have identified the woman but have not released it, as they are in the process of notifying the victim’s family and locating the vehicle of the perpetrator.
“We’ve talked to family members,” Graves said. “But that notification process is not complete yet in terms of other family, so we hope to release that soon.”
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Arizona Department of Public Safety at 602-223-2212.