SEATTLE – A hit-and-run driver is still on the loose after seriously injuring a pet sitter on Christmas Day while she was out walking her cat near Seward Park in Seattle.

The crash came on the heels of the death of another dog walker this summer, Ruth Dalton, who died alongside her dog Prince, after Seattle Police say she was carjacked and run over by Jahmed Haynes.

“I have a lot of fractures that have to heal before I can learn to walk again,” said Karen Miely, still recovering from a hit-and-run from a care facility in Seattle.

Miely was just transferred to a long-term care facility recently after spending several days in the hospital.

“The biggest milestone would probably be getting the bar out of my pelvis,” said Miely.

She was hit at an intersection near her home while walking her cat Max, also known as Maximus Rex. He escaped unharmed and ran home.

Local perspective:

Miely also knew Ruth Dalton, another local dogwalker and pet caretaker, who was killed last August.

“Ruth used to walk five at a time,” said Miely.

Dalton died after Jahmed Haynes allegedly carjacked her and ran her over as she was caring for several dogs.

“It’s heartbreaking what happened to that family,” said Miely.

“When I heard the story she was hit on Christmas Day, I was like ‘What the heck?’ It’s like open season on dog walkers in Seattle,” said Melanie Roberts, Ruth Dalton’s granddaughter.

Years before the homicide, Dalton was also injured by a random driver, according to her granddaughter.

“She was starting into the crosswalk, and had seen a car a couple blocks away and she thought that they would have seen her in the crosswalk and it was an elderly woman, and she did not see grandma and she hit her in the crosswalk,” said Roberts.

Roberts says Dalton suffered knee injuries.

“My grandma was fortunate that the woman that hit her in 2009, she stopped and it was an honest to God accident, to hear that Karen was hit and left was disheartening,” said Roberts.

Miely wishes more security cameras were rolling where she was hit. Roberts believes Dalton would have advocated for that.

“Almost like neighborhood watch cameras. When she saw cameras around, she felt safer,” said Roberts.

Meantime, an online fundraiser is raising money for Miely’s recovery. She hopes to be home in April.

“I’m thinking, well, that’s around my birthday, I’d like to go home and see my cat. He’s patiently, he’s just being such a good boy,” said Miely.

She says investigators told her a car part was found in the area after the crash. However, it’s unclear if it’s related. FOX 13 reached out to Seattle Police for any updates. We are waiting to hear back.

Miely is continuing to ask anyone with security camera footage from around 7 p.m. on December 25 in the area of South Orcas Street and 51st or 52nd Avenue South to check their cameras and share footage with police if they haven’t done so already.

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