Criminal charges were filed today against a Hawthorne woman who allegedly struck a 72-year-old pedestrian with her car, then dragged the injured woman into the vehicle and led police on a chase.
Alexis Lewis, 26, pleaded not guilty to one count each of kidnapping and evading an officer, along with three counts of child endangerment involving her three young children, who police said had been left home alone.
Lewis is accused of striking the pedestrian at the intersection of 134th Street and Hawthorne Boulevard in Hawthorne about 9 a.m. Monday, and then forcibly putting her in her car.
One witness told police that the driver dragged the screaming victim into the front passenger seat of her vehicle and then picked up the woman's shoes and put them in the car before driving off, according to Hawthorne police.
Another witness reported seeing the woman drag the victim over to the vehicle and prop her up while she opened the passenger side door, police said. An undercover officer who was in the area arrived on scene as the defendant was driving off, and directed assisting units to the car, police said.
Officers unsuccessfully tried to pull over the woman, who was traveling at speeds of more than 80 mph and going through red lights at busy intersections, according to police.
Lewis finally stopped in front of her home in the 12600 block of Eucalyptus Avenue and was arrested, police said.
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The injured woman was found in the front seat of the car and taken to a hospital for treatment.
Hawthorne police determined that Lewis' three children -- ages 2, 3 and 4 -- had been left home unattended.
Authorities do not know what the woman -- who had three unspecified warrants for her arrest -- was trying to do with the injured pedestrian, who remains hospitalized.
Lewis is due back at the Airport Branch Courthouse in Los Angeles on May 21, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require her to stand trial.
