TrinityBailor.jpg

Trinity H. Bailor, age 8, recuperating in a hospital bed after suffering injuries in a hit-and-run incident in a Bay County Walmart parking lot the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015.

(Courtesy Andrew Bailor)

Elicia E. Graham

BAY CITY, MI -- A 55-year-old Bay City woman has been charged with two felonies stemming from a hit-and-run of an 8-year-old girl in a Walmart parking lot.

Bay County District Magistrate Janice M. Doner Friday, Jan. 29, arraigned Elicia E. Graham on single counts of operating a motor vehicle while license suspended, revoked or denied causing injury and failure to stop at the scene of a collision resulting in serious impairment or death. Both charges are punishable by up to five years in prison.

The incident happened about 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 9 in the Walmart lot at 3921 E. Wilder Road. As Andrew Bailor was parking his vehicle, his daughter Trinity was moving a shopping cart when a vehicle struck her, briefly stopped, then drove away, according to police.

Michigan State Police Lt. David Kaiser previously told The Times troopers reviewed footage recorded by Walmart's surveillance cameras and spotted the vehicle. They also determined the female driver had been in the store beforehand and made a purchase on a credit card, Kaiser said.

Investigators identified the financial institution that issued the credit card, the lieutenant said. As part of their investigation, troopers obtained search warrants for bank records that led them to their suspect, Simon said.

Bailor, having previously spoken to The Times, described the vehicle as a late 1990s/early 2000s Chevrolet Malibu with a gold-ish or champagne paint job.

"It hit her and the cart pretty hard," he said.

Bailor gathered Trinity and drove her to McLaren Bay Region hospital, where doctors determined she did not suffer life-threatening injuries. She sustained three broken fingers, road rash and torn-off fingernails, her father said.

Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Bernard J. Coppolino Friday asked Doner to set a reasonable cash-surety bond. He said Graham has convictions of impaired driving from 1998 and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated from 2002.

Defense attorney Stevens J. Jacobs opposed such a bond. He said his client is employed and that there is no allegation alcohol was a factor.

Doner granted Graham a personal recognizance bond.

Graham is to appear for a preliminary examination at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18.