Iowa woman runs down teen with car because she was 'Mexican': Police

A 42-year-old woman in Iowa, allegedly under the influence of drugs, hit a 14-year-old girl with her Jeep in what was termed as a hit and run case. According to reports, Nicole Marie Poole Franklin had taken Methamphetamine hours before hitting the girl. The accused is facing charges based on Hate crime and attempted murder after revealing that she would have run over the teenager because of her being a Mexican

Girl targetted because of her ethnicity

Police Chief, Michael Venema, said that the 42-year-old woman had confessed that she had been behind the wheel when her car struck the teenager. Venema said that Franklin made a startling revelation that she would intentionally run over the girl just because she was a Mexican, leading authorities to file charges of hate crime along with attempted murder against her.

In a public address, Venema said that Franklin made numerous derogatory comments against Latinos, adding that he was sure that the woman had decided about the girl's ethnicity before hitting her. Venema further added that he said hate crimes and violence will not at all be tolerated in their community and also said that they were working with the girl's family to seek justice in their case.

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Venema said that he was surprised about the fact that the accused was so open about her intentions to hit the girl. He added that in his 35-year-old career he had seen a few cases wherein people ran away from the crime scene but this particular incident was shocking as it was intentional.

While speaking to a local media outlet, Natalia Miranda said that she really did not remember the impact after the car hit her and remembered waking up in the snow, with people telling her that she had passed out after the accident. Miranda further added that she remembered the car speeding towards her, adding that she was just a schoolgirl who did not deserve to be hit by a car.

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Franklin had a prior criminal record

Nicole Franklin was arrested by the authorities in a different case on the same day she hit Miranda. According to reports, Franklin has driven to a gas station and hurled racial abuses at customers present there before she threw a few things at one of the gas station employees. Police officials matched the details of her jeep in the hit-and-run case. According to reports, the 42-year-old woman had been arrested by the police quite a few times based on the charges of public intoxication, theft and assault.

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(With inputs from agencies)