A Utah woman has been arrested on suspicion of causing serious bodily injury to a motorcyclist and fleeing the scene of the crash Sunday in South Durango, according to the Durango Police Department.

Brittany Dee, 24, was booked Monday into the La Plata County Jail; she had posted a $10,000 bail as of Monday evening.

According to police, Dee was driving a newer-model gray Ford F-150 north on East Eighth Avenue near Third Street about 12:35 p.m. when she attempted to turn left into a parking lot where the old Macho’s south location used to be, said Cmdr. Nick Stasi, with the police department.

Dee is suspected of failing to yield to a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, driven by Jeanette Wages, 70, of Durango.

“The pickup truck made a left turn in front of the oncoming motorcycle, trying to pull into the parking lot, and the motorcycle collided with the truck,” Stasi said.

A male passenger inside the pickup exited the vehicle to check on the motorcyclist, Stasi said. He then got back into the truck and the truck fled the scene, he said.

“Through some investigative work, our officers were able to identify the passenger, who they recognized, and then found a truck that was registered to him and matched the truck,” Stasi said.

Police also put out a Medina Alert, which is used to alert law enforcement of hit-and-run suspects who have caused serious bodily injury or death, he said.

Police were able to contact the passenger of the pickup, who identified the driver.

Coincidentally, police had an interaction with the male passenger the previous day, Stasi said.

“It was a combination of aware officers who recognized somebody from the prior day, and then also just the use of some of our technology,” Stasi said. “We used our downtown cameras that we were able to identify the truck from an earlier encounter.”

He also credited a witness at the crash scene who began snapping photos.

Police contacted Dee on Monday morning. She apparently fled to Aneth, Utah, which is east of Bluff. She agreed to return to Durango to turn herself in, Stasi said.

“She claims that she freaked out and didn’t know what to do and fled,” he said.

She was charged with failure to remain at the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury, a felony, and failure to yield the right of way.

Police are unsure why Dee turned in front of an oncoming motorcyclist. It is unknown whether drugs or alcohol played a role. “She just clearly wasn’t paying attention,” Stasi said.

Wages, the motorcyclist, was flown to St. Anthony Hospital in Lakewood with compound breaks in her leg and a head injury. Her injuries are believed to be non-life-threatening.

shane@durangoherald.com