Georgetown woman killed after camper shell flies off truck, hits her car

GEORGETOWN, Texas - A Georgetown woman was killed last month when a camper shell flew off a truck and hit her car while she was driving. 

Last week, authorities arrested the truck driver. 

The backstory:

Kimberly Martin, 65, was going to play pickleball with her friends on March 4. She was driving on Ronald Reagan Boulevard outside of Georgetown. 

According to the crash report, as she and a truck were passing each other, the camper shell of the truck flew off and hit Martin's windshield, which struck her head and pinned her in the car. The truck drove off.

Joe Caputo with Williams Caputo Injury Lawyers represents Martin's family. He says before they decide whether to sue, they want to know more about where the truck driver was going, if he was working for someone, and why the camper shell flew off. 

Kimberly Martin, 65

"Was it manufactured incorrectly, was it installed improperly, and so we're trying to make sure that we find out who did this, why it happened, and we want to see if we can prevent it from happening again," he said.

The crash report says a witness helped pull the windshield off of Martin. She was in and out of consciousness. Her car rolled, hitting the back of the witness' car. 

Martin was taken to a hospital but died from her injuries four days later. The cause of death was blunt force injury. 

Dig deeper:

Caputo says three weeks after the crash, they were able to get surveillance and dashcam video from the surrounding area, which helped identify the truck.

Last week, DPS arrested Christopher Federoff. He is charged with failure to stop and render aid. 

The arrest affidavit says he didn't know the camper had come off until he got home, but went back to the scene the next day and took pictures of the camper, which had police markers on it, but he didn't tell law enforcement then.

Federoff's attorney said they are not prepared to comment on the case. 

Local perspective:

Martin has three children. She worked at schools in Georgetown, was involved with her church, and had lots of friends.

"She had eight grandkids. She retired, actually, to start taking care of her grandkids here in town, and she'll be missed," Caputo said.

He adds her family is grateful to the investigators, the witness who helped, and those who turned over video of the case.

Why you should care:

If you have a camper shell, "make sure that it's installed properly. Make sure it's the right type of camper shell. No matter what, if you're traveling 70 miles an hour on the highway, there are a lot of kids, there are a lot of parents, there are a lot of elderly folks all over these highways, and we have to make sure we're keeping them safe," Caputo said.