Prosecutors say video, plate readers helped quickly identify a pickup and its driver.
RICHMOND, VA — A Richmond woman charged in the hit-and-run death of Virginia Living magazine editor Hope Cartwright was denied bond this week as prosecutors described surveillance video showing a pickup striking the 23-year-old in a downtown crosswalk and then driving away, authorities said.
Cartwright’s death has shaken a small newsroom and renewed attention on pedestrian safety in Richmond, where officials have reported multiple people killed while walking early in 2026. In court, prosecutors said Cartwright was crossing with a walk signal near her workplace when the crash happened and argued the driver’s history and the evidence in the case showed she should remain in custody while the charge moves forward.
Police said officers were called about 5:34 p.m. Mon., Feb. 16, to the intersection of East Cary and South 2nd streets. Cartwright was found down and unresponsive in the northbound lanes of 2nd Street, police said, and she was taken to a hospital where she later died. Investigators said she was crossing eastbound in the marked crosswalk when a vehicle making a left turn from East Cary Street struck her, then left before officers arrived.
Authorities said analysts using traffic camera footage and license plate reader data identified the striking vehicle and its registered owner within about an hour. Officers found the pickup parked in front of a home and made contact with the owner, identified as Latesha Coleman, 41, of Richmond. Coleman was later charged with a felony count of hit-and-run in connection with Cartwright’s death. Police and prosecutors have not publicly released further charges in the case, but in court prosecutors described evidence they said shows the driver kept going after the impact.
At a bond hearing Wednesday in Richmond General District Court, Coleman appeared before Judge Victoria Pearson, who denied bond. Prosecutors told the judge Cartwright had just left work nearby and was crossing lawfully with a white pedestrian walk signal. They said she was more than halfway through the intersection when she was hit. “Hope did everything she was supposed to,” a prosecutor said in arguing against release. The judge viewed video shown in court and noted it was clearly daytime and that the victim’s white hat was visible, prosecutors said.
In describing the evidence, prosecutors said a nearby home’s camera captured the crash and helped detectives locate the pickup. They said additional cameras and license plate readers around the city tracked the vehicle’s route. Prosecutors said the video shows the pickup briefly slowing after impact and then pulling away. In court, they said Coleman told detectives she thought she hit a curb and that investigators noticed an odor of alcohol. A prosecutor disputed the curb claim, saying there are no curbs or medians in the middle of the intersection where Cartwright was struck.
Prosecutors also said Coleman was driving on a suspended license at the time of the crash and said she had previously held a commercial driver’s license. They urged the judge to deny bond, citing what they described as a criminal history that includes drug possession and selling convictions, a petit larceny conviction, and multiple failures to appear in court going back years. The defense called the case “a very tragic situation” and said they understood its seriousness, while also telling the court the last time Coleman faced a charge was in 2015. Defense attorneys said Coleman is a lifelong Richmond resident, is unemployed, lives with her 21-year-old daughter, and has been cooperative with the investigation.
Cartwright’s family filled part of the courtroom for the hearing, prosecutors said. Her mother traveled from Michigan, her aunt came from Florida, and other relatives and friends traveled from Northern Virginia and New York. Coleman’s daughter and another relative also attended, according to court accounts.
Cartwright worked as an associate editor at Virginia Living, a regional magazine based in Richmond. The magazine’s offices are on the same block as the crash site. Virginia Living publisher John-Lawrence Smith said in a message to subscribers that Cartwright was gifted and dedicated and had been on the verge of a remarkable career. Editor in Chief Madeline Mayhood said Cartwright had a strong instinct for story ideas and project management and quickly became a key part of a small staff producing the magazine. Colleagues described her as bright, thoughtful and steadily growing into leadership responsibilities in the newsroom.
Beyond the immediate loss, Cartwright’s death has landed amid growing concern about pedestrian crashes in the city. Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards has called the case a tragedy and has said Cartwright was the fourth pedestrian killed in Richmond in 2026. Community members and city leaders have been pressing for changes to street design and traffic enforcement, and earlier this year residents gathered outside City Hall to remember people killed while walking and to call for safer streets.
Coleman’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 10 in Richmond General District Court. Prosecutors and police have said the investigation relied heavily on camera footage and license plate reader data, and additional details about speed, impairment testing, and any further charges have not been made public. For now, court records show the felony hit-and-run charge remains pending as Cartwright’s family and coworkers prepare for the next hearing date.
Author note: Last updated February 19, 2026.