Authorities have announced they’ve made an arrest in connection to a fatal hit-and-run crash that claimed the life of a woman. On Thursday, investigators said they’ve identified the driver of the car that struck Mishell Warner and left the scene as 66-year-old Karen Essick. Personal items belonging to Warner were left scattered across the roadway along Barry Road and West Hallandale Beach Boulevard after she was fatally struck by a car early Monday morning. A friend of Warner’s told 7News she worked as a nurse and was on her way to visit her ailing mother at the time of the crash. Moments after the crash, Warner was quickly rushed to a hospital, but would later succumb to her injuries. “Paramedics transported her to a nearby hospital where, sadly, she died,” said Broward Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Carey Codd. Officials say Essick, a resident from Miramar, was driving a maroon Toyota Corolla, which they managed to spot in surveillance footage that showed her briefly stopping after the crash. “Stopping the vehicle, briefly exiting the vehicle, getting back in the vehicle, driving back to the crash scene and then eventually fleeing the scene altogether,” said Codd. Investigators managed to identify her after tracking down that Corolla to a repair shop in West Park, where they determined that the damage to the vehicle matched the damage caused in the hit-and-run and the car parts that were left at the scene. According to the arrest report, “the owner of the business also advised that [Essick] paid in advance to have the vehicle fixed.” Essick reportedly confessed to detectives after they contacted her, according to BSO. Jennifer Reis, one of Warner’s coworkers, told 7News during a phone interview she was stunned at the heartlessness of the driver’s actions. “How can you not stop to help someone that you just hit?” said Reis. “You need to stop and help that person.” Reis went on the describe Warner as a caring, loving nurse who did not deserve what happened to her. “She took care of her patients and healed them. She was really responsible and, ironically, that no one stopped to help her,” said Reis. As for Essick, she remains behind bars at the Broward County jail facing charges for failing to stop for an accident involving death and tampering with evidence. She currently has no bond set. ...read more read less