A New Orleans family is mourning 54-year-old Erica Gabriel, who was fatally struck by a car outside a gas station in St. Roch early Thursday morning, October 29, and they are now demanding justice as the accused driver faces charges in her death. Court records allege the woman behind the wheel ran Gabriel over not once, but twice, before driving away.
Family and friends identified Gabriel as the victim, according to Fox 8, which reported that police said a woman fatally hit her with a car and drove away at a gas station in the 3100 block of Elysian Fields Avenue. Court documents reviewed by the station indicate Gabriel and the driver, 44-year-old Shira Barousse Northcutt, were both inside the Brothers Gas Station at 3101 Elysian Fields Avenue around 2:12 a.m.
Police said the deadly encounter began over a dispute involving items on top of Gabriel’s car. According to Fox 8, Gabriel started banging on the hood of Northcutt’s car asking for her items back when Northcutt then allegedly hit Gabriel twice with her car before driving off.
Court Records Detail Second Collision
The violence of the encounter escalated further, according to court records cited by Fox 8 in a follow-up report. The suspect then stopped her vehicle, while the victim was trapped underneath, and proceeded to put the vehicle in reverse, rolling over the victim a second time, the records state. Northcutt then fled the scene without rendering aid or calling police, per the same account…