LAKELAND, Fla. — A Polk County high school teacher was arrested and charged in a hit-and-run Thursday evening thanks to the help of a witness who followed the suspect and reported her location to the Sheriff's Office.
- Christina Lee charged in hit-and-run
- Lee a high school teacher in Polk County
- Lee teaches at Kathleen Senior High
Christina Dobbs Lee, 47, is accused of running a red light and hitting another driver at the intersection of Knights Station Road and Galloway Road in Lakeland just before 6 p.m.
(Courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office)
The driver that was hit drove herself to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries, the report stated.
Deputies said a driver who witnessed the crash followed the suspect, obtained her tag number and the neighborhood she lived in, and reported the information to the sheriff's office.
Once deputies made contact with Lee at her home, they said she admitted to the crash.
"I was driving northbound on Galloway Road North; I ran the red light and crashed into the other vehicle," Lee said, according to the report.
They also found her Mazda inside the garage with front-end damage and the airbags deployed.
Lee was charged with leaving the scene of a crash with injuries without rendering aid. She has since bonded out of jail.
Students at Lee's school, Kathleen Senior High School, told us news of the arrest is getting around campus.
"From what I heard, people have been telling me they would not have expected Ms. Lee to do that, because I guess she was a good teacher," said student Skyler Christinsen.
Polk County Schools responded to the incident, saying Lee has not been placed on any form of administrative leave at this time. They are reviewing her arrest to determine whether an internal investigation is warranted.