19-year-old arrested in Florence hit-and-run that left cyclist critically injured

FLORENCE, Ala. (WHNT) — A suspect was arrested after a hit-and-run left a cyclist with critical injuries Friday night, police say.

Florence police say a cyclist was struck by a vehicle shortly before 11 p.m. on Cloverdale Road near Dutch Bros Coffee. The driver then took off, according to the police department.

The victim was flown to the hospital in critical condition.

Police later said the driver they were looking for ended up reaching out to them within hours. According to a news release, Scarlet Montgomery, 19, of Florence, called police around 1:30 a.m. to say she had been in a wreck. Officers say they went to her location and found that her vehicle’s damage was consistent with the one they were looking for.

Montgomery was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, first-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident with injury.

Montgomery was booked into the Lauderdale County Detention Center and has since been released on $35,500 bail.