Woman Arrested in Fatal Brooksville Hit-and-Run After Pedestrian Dragged 87 Feet

Florida Highway Patrol announced Feb. 23, 2026, that 45-year-old Kerrie Noell Walden was arrested in connection with a Brooksville hit-and-run that authorities say left a pedestrian dead, an arrest notice that the Original Report described as involving a victim dragged roughly 87 feet. The agency tied the case to a collision on Wiscon Road in Brooksville and said charges were filed in the fatal crash.

FHP records and Tampabay28 reporting provide a detailed timeline for an April 15, 2025 collision in Brooksville: Walden was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Wiscon Road and California Street shortly after 4 a.m., and when the light turned green she turned west on Wiscon Road and struck 46-year-old Jacob Mull, who the report said was lying in the westbound lane. Tampabay28 cited FHP saying Mull was “dragged about 37 feet after the initial impact,” Walden left the scene, and her vehicle was later found at the McDonald’s on Cortez Boulevard with a missing bumper and blood on the undercarriage.

Tampabay28 reported forensic details attributed to the FHP investigation: DNA testing matched blood from Walden’s vehicle to the victim, with a probability “greater than 700 billion times more likely than an unrelated individual,” and investigators recorded that Walden “told investigators she knew she had hit something and wasn't sure if it was a deer.” Those details were part of the agency’s case narrative tied to the April 15, 2025 crash in Hernando County.

The arrest announcement on Feb. 23, 2026 introduces a discrepancy with the April 2025 account: the Original Report cited a dragged distance of roughly 87 feet, while the FHP narrative reported via Tampabay28 states about 37 feet. At this stage, the public record contains differing measurements tied to the Brooksville fatality and investigators have noted vehicle evidence at the McDonald’s on Cortez Boulevard and the laboratory DNA result in the FHP file.

Separate hit-and-run reporting in Hernando County appears to concern an earlier case. R News documented a fatal crash on Jacqueline Road on the evening of Oct. 16, 2023, that killed 38-year-old Shawn Michael Mullins; R News reported a family member named 35-year-old Rhonda Sue Smith as a suspect, and that Smith was later arrested on unrelated charges March 27, 2024 before being served with a Florida Highway Patrol warrant for Hit-and-Run Involving Death that carried a no-bond status.

A third, distinct violent incident reported by Suncoastnews involved 41-year-old Lisa Nicosia at Tampa General Hospital-Brooksville just after noon on Oct. 12, when Nicosia allegedly eloped after a Marchman Act transport, forcefully removed a 70-year-old man from his vehicle and, according to the report, struck and trapped him under a wheel well; Suncoastnews listed charges including attempted felony murder and carjacking and said Nicosia is being held on no bond while the victim’s prognosis was described as “grim.”

These cases collectively underscore recurring public-safety and public-health challenges in Hernando County: fatal pedestrian strikes on Wiscon Road and Jacqueline Road, the role of forensic evidence such as the DNA report tied to the Cortez Boulevard vehicle, and a hospital parking-lot violence incident tied to a Marchman Act transport at TGH-Brooksville. Officials at the Florida Highway Patrol and Hernando County agencies have filed charges in the named incidents and investigations remain active as authorities reconcile differing details in the public record.