Columbia police renew plea for information about hit-and-run that injured young nurse

COLUMBIA, SC It’s been nearly three years since a hit-and run driver struck nurse Lindsay Bires as she took a break from her overnight shift at Palmetto Health Richland hospital.

She was standing on the sidewalk around 2:25 am, September 12, 2012, when a small, white car came careening down Medical Park Drive on the northwest side of the the hospital’s main campus.

Witnesses told investigators that the car was driving erratically and they were forced to jump out of the way when it ran off the road and appeared to hit something before speeding away. That something turned out to be then-24-year-old Bires, an energetic young cardiac nurse on break from her overnight shift at the hospital.

Bires, a former USC student from Massachusetts, was seriously injured and continues intense physical and speech therapy during what her family characterizes as an “extremely difficult” road to recovery.

Police do not know the make or model of the car. They also don’t know if any passengers were inside or where the car was headed.

On Wednesday, police said a $25,000 reward is still being offered for information about the accident. In an effort to generate new leads in this cold case, police chief Skip Holbrook, in a news release, urged “citizens to recall specific conversations they might have had with someone regarding the incident. For example, did that person act differently/nervously during the discussion, or show signs of guilt and remorse?”

This story was originally published May 27, 2015 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Columbia police renew plea for information about hit-and-run that injured young nurse."