A West Sayville woman has been indicted after prosecutors said she struck a parked vehicle and later hit a jogger, then moved her damaged vehicle to several locations over four days in an alleged attempt to conceal it.
Heather Foster, 50, was indicted on charges including leaving the scene of an incident without reporting and tampering with physical evidence, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said.
Prosecutors said Foster was driving a 2021 Mazda CX-5 eastbound on Brook Street in West Sayville at about 4:38 a.m. on May 16 when she allegedly sideswiped a parked Honda CR-V, causing significant damage to the driver’s side.
Foster allegedly continued driving around West Sayville for about 50 minutes without stopping or notifying police.
At about 5:29 a.m., a woman was jogging eastbound on Brook Street when Foster allegedly struck her from behind, prosecutors said.
Surveillance video captured the collision, according to the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors allege Foster briefly stopped and looked at the unconscious victim on the ground before returning to her vehicle and driving away.
An Uber driver and passenger found the woman and called 911. She was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she underwent multiple surgeries for a compound fracture to her left leg and other injuries.
Investigators used surveillance video to track Foster’s movements after the crash, prosecutors said. She allegedly drove to a family member’s home in Medford before moving the vehicle later that day to a friend’s home in Bohemia, where it was stored in a garage.
Several days later, Foster allegedly moved the vehicle again, this time to her garage in West Sayville.
Suffolk County police Major Case Unit detectives traced the vehicle to Foster’s home. She was taken into custody May 20 and the Mazda was seized.
Prosecutors said the vehicle had front-end damage consistent with both collisions and that pieces from Foster’s vehicle were recovered at both crash scenes.
Foster was arraigned Sept. 10 before Supreme Court Justice Steven Pilewski on charges of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting resulting in serious physical injury, a felony; tampering with physical evidence, a felony; and leaving the scene of an incident without reporting involving property damage, a traffic infraction.
Pilewski ordered Foster placed on supervised release and suspended her driver’s license while the case is pending. The charges are not bail eligible under current New York law.
Foster is due back in court Oct. 28. She faces up to four years in prison if convicted of the top count.
The charges are accusations, and Foster is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
