VERMILION LAKE TWP—A Tower area woman faces multiple criminal counts, including two felonies, after she fled the scene of an Aug. 24 hit and run that left a Babbitt teenager in critical condition.

Investigators believe that Kelly Marie Rutar, 47, was driving a green Oldsmobile Cutlass southbound on Hwy. 169, around 10 a.m., when she rear-ended a small car waiting to turn onto County Road 26, near the Black Bear Café. Brandon Richards, a 17-year old from Babbitt, was driving the struck vehicle and the impact pushed his car into the path of an oncoming pickup. Richards sustained severe injuries in the accident and remains in critical condition nearly a month later.

The Oldsmobile was found a quarter mile away tucked in a driveway just south of the accident scene, but the driver had fled. A manhunt by law enforcement was unsuccessful in locating the driver at the time, but subsequent investigation has shed more light on the incident, including the involvement of a second person who may have assisted Rutar following the accident.

According to an order of detention filed against Rutar, the Oldsmobile she was allegedly driving is registered to Travis Abramson. Abramson told investigators that the vehicle, which he has recently sold to his father, was likely being driven by Rutar at the time. Rutar, when questioned by investigators, said she had been at Fortune Bay and had gone home, leaving her vehicle running in her driveway. She said when she came out again, the car was gone, although she acknowledged she never reported the vehicle as stolen. Robert Hedlund, also of the Tower area, was present at Rutar’s residence at the time of the interview and he stated that he had picked Rutar up in his car that morning to go to the Y Store, but that neither of them had driven on Hwy. 169 on the morning of the accident.

But using video surveillance cameras at the Y Store, investigators were able to identify the green Oldsmobile heading south on Hwy. 169 just minutes before the accident. Fourteen minutes later, the same camera showed Hedlund’s gray Mustang headed south on Hwy. 169. Thirteen minutes later, Hedlund’s car returns, and turns into the Y Store, where Rutar is seen limping from his car into the store. She emerges several minutes later wearing a different jacket. Investigators also reviewed video footage from Fortune Bay Casino, which located Rutar exiting the facility with no discernible limp. Investigators note that the video evidence contradicts the statements of both Rutar and Hedlund.

Officers arrested Rutar on Aug. 26 after serving a search warrant at the home of Mark Abramson, the owner of the vehicle. Abramson denied that Rutar was at the residence, officers but located Rutar hiding in the basement. After placing her under arrest, investigators took photographs of her ankle, which was swollen and bruised.

Rutar faces felony counts for leaving the scene of an accident and failure to notify police of a personal injury accident. Rutar faces a gross misdemeanor charge for driving after cancellation of her license and a misdemeanor charge for failing in the duties of a driver.