Husband Seeks Justice For Wife Following Norman Hit-And-Run

Norman Police say 38-year-old Misti Dawn Miller of Newalla has turned herself in after running over another woman on 180th, near Highway 9 Monday afternoon. The family of the victim, 64-year old Charlene Hughes, says she was crossing the road after collecting letters from the mailbox across the street when she was hit by the vehicle.

“They were able to stabilize her, get her blood pressure up. She lost a tremendous amount of blood, laying in the… laying on the street,” says Charlene’s husband James Hughes.

Charlene was flown to OU Medical Center and has already survived multiple surgeries. James says she has injures to her pelvis, neck, liver, ribs, vertebrae and brain. Charlene can’t move her legs and can barely move her arms. He can’t understand why someone would leave his wife on the side of the road if this was an accident.

Hughes says the break in the case came from a young man who was driving down 180th after the wreck, and had a dash camera on his vehicle. The video footage showed the vehicle involved shortly after the crash.

Hughes says he wants to meet that young man and shake his hand to say thank you.

He is also seeking justice from the court system.

“I don't want to punish everyone who makes a mistake, but when you hit someone and leave them laying in the road to die, I don't think leniency should even be on the table,” James Hughes said.

However, News 9 investigated Misti Dawn Miller and it turns out she has a criminal background.

Court records show Miller was given a deferred sentence in 2006 in Oklahoma County for leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury.

We also found several cases involving bogus checks and an ongoing embezzlement case in Woodward County.

The family says they have no choice but to keep fighting through the pain.

And this is not the first time they’ve been touched by heartbreak.

The couple lost one of their grandchildren years ago after a driver under the influence collided into their family’s car.

Her name was Cadence.

“ We had 8, one of them was killed and one was killed in an auto accident on highway 9 on labor day 2013,” Hughes said.

Now, if you hear “Operation Cadence” in Norman, it’s a targeted effort made by police to track down impaired drivers over holiday weekends.

Police say while Charlene is in the hospital, they will be out patrolling this weekend to protect others.

The family adds that no charges have been filed against Miller, and they say this is because it is unclear if Charlene will recover from these injures.