Driver Caught In Feb Hit-And-Run That Injured Austin Boy 10 Who Crawled 400 Yards Seeking Help

Arrested: Nicole Helen Miller has been named as the driver accused of hitting Caden Walsh, 10, with her vehicle while he was walking home from his northwest Austin school in February.

Miller left the scene of the crash, leaving young Walsh to crawl a quarter of a mile to his home seeking assistance. Miller, 17, is reportedly a Westwood High student.

Walsh would later admit she “hit something,” but thought it was “roadkill.”

Walsh said he was walking home along Mellow Meadow Drive Feb. 9 around 3:30 p.m. when he said a driver went up onto the sidewalk and hit him. “[I was] scared, I really didn’t know what was gonna happen, I’d never had an injury at a time that bad,” Walsh said. “I haven’t ever broken any bones, not nothing.”

Police spent the next few weeks searching for the driver.

According to the affidavit, there was evidence linking Miller and her red Jeep to the incident and the location on the day of the crash.

On March 21, police interviewed Miller at Westwood High School. She initially denied knowing about the incident or being familiar with Hymeadow Drive, which is close to her home, according to an affidavit. She later told officers she remembered hitting something, but thought it may have been a small dog or roadkill.

“During questioning, Miller stated that she saw something tan moving around along the side of the road as she drove away but never returned to confirm what it was,” the affidavit stated. Miller told officers she had been “very scared” and nervous afterward, and called her dad, but didn’t contact emergency services. source

Miller is charged with third-degree felony failure to stop and render aid and was booked into the Williamson County Jail on March 27. Records show the youth was released on a $10,000 bond the following day.