St. Paul fatal hit-and-run victim identified, suspected driver arrested

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The victim of the fatal St. Paul hit-and-run has been identified, while the suspected driver has been arrested Saturday. 

Suspected driver arrested in fatal hit-and-run

What we know:

St. Paul police arrested 39-year-old Michael Kentrell Smith, of St. Paul, who they say is the suspected driver in a hit-and-run that killed a woman in the city on Thursday. 

The man has been booked into the Ramsey County Jail on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide, police said. 

On Saturday afternoon, officers stopped an SUV at Interstate 94 and Highway 52 that matched the description of the SUV suspected to be involved in the fatal crash.

Victim identified

What they're saying:

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office identified the victim of the crash as 30-year-old Amber O. Deneen of St. Paul. 

St. Paul fatal hit-and-run

The backstory:

According to St. Paul police, around 5:15 p.m. on Thursday, officers responded to the area of Saint Anthony Avenue and Aldine Street on reports of a pedestrian being hit by a car. 

At the scene, officers found Deneen with a compound fracture to her femur and head trauma, police said. She was taken to the hospital, where she later died. 

Authorities say that witnesses told officers that the car involved was a dark-color SUV. The driver fled the scene before police arrived.