The death earlier this summer of a Cochise County woman is the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, according to a spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department.
Heather Kristine Fairchild died June 30 of injuries suffered on June 23 when she was struck by a SUV while walking near West Thunderbird and 19th Avenue shortly after 3:30 a.m. The driver of the vehicle, identified as Elizabeth Richards, did not stop at the scene, but rather continued driving home about two blocks away, according to the Phoenix PD incident report.
Fairchild, 41, resided in the Pearce – Sunsites area at the time of the accident. She was in Phoenix visiting a friend who had recently moved to Maricopa County.
The police incident report notes no one came forward about seeing Fairchild being hit by a vehicle, the force of which knocked her out of her tennis shoes. Officers found an 80 foot skid mark that did not start until the point of impact, and they found crash debris indicating the vehicle they were looking for was a Nissan.
The report also notes that despite “a very large wound to her head,” Fairchild was able to provide her name and date of birth to an officer. She was later intubated at an Honor Health hospital due to the severity of her injuries.
Instead of calling 911, Richards called her daughter while driving home. She later walked back to the scene before returning home again and sending her daughter to speak with officers. The daughter gave officers her mother’s name and said Richards simply “freaked out” after someone walked into the roadway in front of her Nissan Rogue.
Officers then met with Richards at her apartment complex and inspected her vehicle.
“The 2013 Nissan Rogue…had substantial front end damage with the hood bended in and down the middle as well as a couple of cracks on the front windshield,” according to the incident report, which adds that the vehicle was missing a piece of the grill. The missing piece was later found to be consistent with debris found at the scene.
Richards recounted that the person she hit went up the Nissan’s hood and roof before landing on the roadway behind the vehicle. At the time, Richards’ breath had a strong odor of alcohol, her speech was slurred, and her eyes were “extremely pink and glassy,” the report notes.
Officers conducted a field sobriety test which “showed symptoms of impairment,” but Richards gave officers an explanation for that – she claimed to have consumed wine at home after the accident. An officer suggested going into Richards’ apartment to retrieve the wine glass as evidence.
“Elizabeth then stated that she drank from the bottle, then changed back to using a glass. When I again suggested that she should show me the glass, Elizabeth then stated ‘it broke.’”
Richards was placed under arrest at 5:20 a.m. on suspicion of DUI. She was interviewed again after a Miranda Warning and changed her story about drinking after hitting Fairchild.
“It was at this time that the suspect stated that she had not been drinking after the collision,” the report states. “The suspect also mentioned smoking marijuana.”
But Richards was not cited or booked into jail that morning. Instead, investigators elected to wait for further details about Fairchild’s injuries and the results of tests of Richards’ blood. The investigation changed gears a week later when Fairchild died.
No autopsy was performed due to the well-documented nature of Fairchild’s injuries during the intervening week of medical care she received. The Maricopa County Office of the Medical Examiner issued a medical examiner report listing the cause of death as complications of blunt force injuries.
The report also notes toxicology testing conducted when Fairchild was first admitted to the hospital was positive for methamphetamine and ecstasy.
Nearly three months later Fairchild’s family is still waiting to learn what criminal charges, if any, will be filed in the case. That decision will made in the near future, according to Phoenix PD Sgt. Andy Williams.
