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VELDA CITY, MO (KTVI) – Police arrested a 24-year-old man Friday morning in connection with a fatal hit and run that occurred late last month in Velda City.

Mikal Hamilton was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident for the February 26 hit and run that killed 23-year-old Keisha Redding of University City. He remains jailed on $100,000 cash-only bond.

Redding’s mother, Njoki Redding, said she learned about the arrest about 11:20 a.m. Friday.

“What I think is it’s the next step, the next chapter in this story,” Njoki said. “So it’s a continuation of the work that needs to be done to understand what happened, to understand how we could help this not happen, to understand the problems that exist; because everything is connected.”

Njoki said nothing happens by chance. She said there are “conditions that exist.”

“So we need to investigate those conditions,” she said. “What conditions create these kinds of behaviors, these kinds of acts? Because nobody comes out of the womb with these thoughts and ideas. Certain conditions create what we’re seeing, what we’re experiencing,” Njoki said.

Investigators said Hamilton was fleeing police and trying to avoid a traffic stop when he struck Redding, who was crossing the street at the time.

“So if we want to experience something different,” Njoki said, “we need to take a serious look at the kinds of conditions that exist for people, for all of us. Because we’re all touched now; we’re all on this now. But it’s going to be somebody else if we don’t take a look. Why did this happen? Did this have to happen? What led to this?”

“This is happening, in all kinds of ways it’s happening. But the bottom line is they’re dying. And we’re having to experience this in a very unnecessary way. We can maybe make a change in how we’re having to do it this way. Everyone is going to have to transition off of this earth, but there are probably some better ways this can be done. And we need to take a serious look at our participation in this world, what we’re creating in our communities, what we’re creating in society. Because some of this that we’re creating leads right here to this day.”

Police released surveillance video showing Hamilton running a red light at the intersection of Natural Bridge and Lucas and Hunt.