KEY POINTS

  • The teen was reportedly run down while walking to school after the suspect allegedly hopped the curb
  • The suspect allegedly told police she tried killing the teen because she was Mexican
  • Suspect could still reportedly be charged with a hate crime

A woman in Iowa was charged with attempted murder Friday for allegedly trying to run over a teen because she is Hispanic.

Nicole Marie Poole Franklin, 42, was charged in the Dec. 9 incident near Indian Hills Jr. High School in Clive, Iowa. A 14-year-old girl was walking to school when Franklin's car hopped the curb. The girl suffered several injuries, Clive police said.

“The defendant admitted she intentionally struck the victim intending to injure or kill her,” Clive police said in a complaint. “She struck the victim because the victim is Hispanic.”

Franklin is facing charges of attempted murder; assault; theft; and consumption, intoxication and possession of illegal substances. She was held at Polk County Jail on $1 million bail.

“Franklin told investigators that she ran the girl over because, in her words, she was Mexican,” Clive Police Chief Michael Venema told a press conference Friday. “She went on to make a number of derogatory statements about Latinos to our investigators.

“There is no place in our community, or in any other for that matter, for this type of hatred or violence.”

He said Franklin could face additional hate crime charges once police have completed their investigation.

police
This image shows police cars parked at Navy Yard following a shooting in Navy Yard, Washington D.C., Sept. 16, 2013. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images
RELATED STORIES