‘Within 3 minutes, she was gone’: Colleagues mourn 23-year-old editor killed in Richmond hit-and-run

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The driver accused of hitting and killing a 23-year-old Richmond magazine editor, then leaving the scene, has been denied bond a second time. The crash happened just feet away from the woman's workplace, where staff are mourning her passing.

On Monday, Feb. 16, Hope Cartwright was hit by a driver at the intersection of South 2nd and East Cary streets. The scene of the crash was near Virginia Living, the Richmond-based magazine, where she worked as an associate editor.

“We just can’t process it,” said Madeline Mayhood, editor in chief of Virginia Living. "I saw her at 5:30... [I said,] 'See you tomorrow,' and within three minutes, she was gone.”

Mayhood said staff members made the devastating discovery as they left work.

23-year-old Hope Cartwright, pictured next to flowers laid at the scene of her death in a Feb. 16 hit-and-run crash. (Photo: 8News)

“The closer they got, they realized ... 'that’s Hope’s pocketbook, that’s Hope’s coat, that’s her hat' ... and it was Hope,” she said.

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Mayhood said Cartwright was part of a three-person editorial team at Virginia Living. The Michigan native was hired right after graduating from college and moved to Richmond in 2024.

The magazine’s tight-knit team joined Cartwright’s family in court Thursday, Feb. 19 as the woman charged with felony hit-and-run in the crash -- 41-year-old Latesha Coleman -- tried to appeal her bond.

Coleman initially denied bond on Wednesday, Feb. 18. On Thursday, a judge denied her appeal after the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said she was driving with a suspended license and had a criminal history spanning several years.

The Commonwealth also showed surveillance footage from the scene of the crash that showed Cartwright in the center of the crosswalk when she was hit by a pickup truck making a left turn. According to a criminal complaint, the driver ran over her and slowed down about 100 feet away before driving off.

The Richmond Police Department said its officers then found the vehicle parked at Coleman's home within an hour of the crash. They located it using traffic camera video and Flock automatic license plate readers.

The Commonwealth said officers smelled alcohol on Coleman's breath at the time of her arrest and said Coleman also told officers that she thought she hit a curb.

Flowers now sit on Cartwright’s desk inside the magazine’s office, directly across from her co-worker Gabriela de Camargo Gonçalves, the publication’s digital editor.

Madeline Mayhood stands at Hope Cartwright's desk as she sorts through Cartwright's publications. (Photo: 8News)

“There’s like a huge hole right here,” de Camargo Gonçalves said as she pointed to Cartwright's desk. “I feel like I’m just going to peek and see the top of her head, like I used to."

Mayhood said the team considered taking a step back from their work as they process Cartwright's death, but ultimately decided to move forward with the magazine's latest issue to honor her.

"We just need each other and, Hope, above all, would want us to soldier on and meet these deadlines and get this issue out," Mayhood said.

The next publication of Virginia Living, which is expected to be released within the next two weeks, will feature Cartwright's final work.

Mayhood said they'd also like to celebrate her life with a special event and are still determining the best way to do so.

“I want people to remember her not only as this brilliant journalist who had her life ahead of her, but as a beautiful human being all around,” de Camargo Gonçalves said.

Coleman’s next court hearing is scheduled for March 10.