By Staff
Staff reports
A 41-year-old woman who had sustained extensive injuries was found lying in the middle of Hwy. 31 early in the wee hours of the morning Saturday, Nov. 5, according to the Brewton Police Department.
The woman was transported to D.W. McMillan Hospital and was later LifeFlighted to a hospital in Pensacola where she died, Brewton Police Chief Monte McGougin said.
According to a news release, Jeri A. Philyaw was found lying in the middle of Hwy. 31 at approximately 3 a.m.
According to a witness, a small dark colored – possibly black – car with an Escambia County license plate struck the victim while she was lying in the roadway. The vehicle continued to travel toward town without stopping.
Mrs. Philyaw was last seen leaving a local bar with her husband, who was driving a white passenger van. The news release said that at approximately seven tenths of a mile from the bar, Mrs. Philyaw was found by witnesses lying in the roadway. Her husband, along with the white passenger van, was not at the scene by the time officers had arrived.
Robert Andrew Philyaw, the husband, later came back to the scene driving a different vehicle. While at the scene, Mr. Philyaw was very irate with police officers and was attempting to enter the ambulance, the news release stated.
Officers then had a small struggle with Mr. Philyaw, and he was later arrested for Public Intoxication. McGougin said that Mr. Philyaw was not arrested for Driving Under the Influence since none of his officers saw him drive his car.
Due to further investigation, Mr. Philyaw was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident with injuries, a felony, and he was placed in the Escambia County Jail. The cause of Mrs. Philyaw's death will be determined by a forensics team, according to the police department. Bond had not been set for Mr. Philyaw as of Tuesday afternoon.
Anyone with information regarding this case or about the vehicle is asked to notify the Brewton Police Department at 867-3212.