Leesburg Police Department is searching for a gray Hyundai, similar to the one pictured here. Police say the car fled early Friday after hitting a 40-year-old woman and killing her.

Leesburg police searching for vehicle in deadly hit-and-run

Inside Scoop, Leesburg | By Marilyn M. Aciego | April 10, 2026 | Fatality, Florida, Hit and Run, Lake County, Leesburg | 1 minute of reading

LEESBURG, Fla. — Leesburg police are searching for a vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run early Friday morning.

Officers with the Leesburg Police Department were conducting a well-being check around 12:09 a.m. near U.S. Highway 27, south of Singletary Park, when they found 40-year-old Ashleah C. Hayes deceased in the roadway near the intersection of U.S. Highway 27 and English Road, Lt. Shannon Walsh said.

The preliminary investigation found Hayes was crossing U.S. Highway 27 when she was struck by a northbound gray Hyundai sedan, Walsh said.

The driver fled the scene.

“The suspect vehicle is believed to have front-end damage,” Walsh said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477) or LPD’s Traffic Unit at 352-728-9860, extension 3838.

About The Author

Marilyn M. Aciego

Publisher Marilyn M. Aciego was born and raised in Lake County and is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She began her journalism career at LSSC and in 2023 she was honored with LSSC’s Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award. She began working at the Daily Commercial while she was in college and continued her career there as a reporter after she graduated. In her 20+ year-career, she covered many of the area’s top stories including the disappearance of Trenton Duckett and the death of beloved Sheriff Chris Daniels. She has landed many exclusive interviews and was the first to break two of the biggest stories of 2024- the death of Jamaria Sessions and the murder of a Lake County Sheriff's Office deputy and the attempted murder of two other deputies. In addition to Inside Lake, Marilyn is the single mom of a teenaged son and the Florida Bureau Chief for an international media organization.

About The Author

Marilyn M. Aciego

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