Alicia Alampi

Alicia Alampi leaves court. Alampi is accused of hitting and killing a pedestrian near Destiny USA before driving away last December.

(Ellen M. Blalock | eblalock@syracuse.com)

Update: Alicia Alampi skips court as judge orders hearing on her admissions in fatal hit-and-run

Earlier:

Syracuse, NY -- A Clay woman accused of vehicular homicide in a drunken crash that killed a pedestrian in December near Destiny USA is due back in court today.

Alicia Alampi, 39, of 4994 Surrey Lane, also faces leaving the scene of a fatal crash and misdemeanor drunken driving in the Dec. 13 crash on Park Street. Robert BeVard was killed.

Syracuse police located her black Jeep Cherokee at her residence after her license plate came off during the crash.

Her lawyer, Stephen Cambareri, is expected to make legal arguments today before state Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti. Depending on his strategy, those arguments could shed light on her defense in the case.

Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick has confirmed that an off-duty police officer was at the scene of the crash. But the DA said that no charges appeared to apply against the officer.

"A person can witness an accident, even a fatal accident, and if they did not cause it, they can legally drive away," Fitzpatrick said during a Syracuse.com Q and A with readers.

There was no evidence the cop struck BeVard, Fitzpatrick added.

The felonies against Alampi are punishable by up to seven years in prison. She told authorities that she thought she hit a dark object that looked like a tire.

"I didn't know I hit a person," Alampi told police after they caught up to her. They found her Jeep with damage consistent with hitting a pedestrian, according to court papers.

BeVard was described by family as a tireless worker who walked everywhere.