A 94-year-old man was killed in a hit-and-run incident on Thursday outside the Kansas cancer treatment center where he worked, authorities said. According to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, William J. Ward of Leawood was killed in the crash that took place just before 8 a.m. local time in the parking garage of the University of Kansas Cancer Center’s Westwood campus, per The Kansas City Star.
The alleged driver in the accident, identified in court documents obtained by The Kansas City Star as 24-year-old nursing assistant Kelsi Carmack, fled the scene and was arrested several hours after the accident. Also an employee of the Cancer Center, Carmack claims that she did not know she had hit Ward and did not realize anything had happened until later, according to local news station FOX4.
She allegedly then reported for work at the treatment center immediately after the accident, according to her father, who spoke with the FOX affiliate. Carmack now faces a felony charge for failing to stop at an accident that resulted in death, per the court documents obtained by The Kansas City Star. The University of Kansas Health System later released a statement confirming that an employee was involved in the crash.
“Employees and health system leaders are feeling what many in our community are experiencing… shock and extreme sadness in this moment. We are dedicated to helping and healing patients, and so the news that this accident involved an employee is especially tragic to us on many levels,” the statement read, according to local CBS affiliate KCTV.
“We are providing counselors to anyone and everyone at the cancer center that feels a need,” the statement continued. “Our thoughts are with the families of all involved in this tragic accident.”
Carmack’s father, Bill Carmack, told FOX4 that she “never meant to hit anybody.”
“My daughter was going to work, she never meant to hit nobody. When I talked with her on the phone, she never knew she hit anybody,” Bill told the outlet, adding that he wanted to ask Ward’s family for forgiveness.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
“I am so sorry about your loss, please forgive my daughter,” he said, addressing the man’s family. “She did not mean to do this. She loves being a nurse.” “She went to work — please go ask her co-workers — she never knew that she hit somebody,” he continued. “She loves people, that’s why she became a nurse, because her mom has severe health problems.”