Sayville woman, Heather Foster, in court over alleged hit-and-run that injured jogger

A Sayville woman who spent Tuesday night in jail on charges she struck and seriously injuring a jogger in the hamlet but failed to stop, appeared in court Wednesday where a judge released her on "non-monetary conditions," according to court records.

Heather Foster, 50, pleaded not guilty at her arraignment at Suffolk First Disrict Court in Central Islip to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident with serious physical injury, the records show.

Suffolk County police said Foster, driving an SUV, hit Michele Walters, 60, also of Sayville, about 5:45 a.m. on Saturday near Brook Street and Cherry Avenue, the Suffolk police said in a news release.

The SUV then "fled the scene," the police said in a Sunday news release.

First responders transported Walters to South Shore Hospital in Bay Shore with serious injuries, police said. Updates on her condition late Wednesday were not available.

Authorities had asked the public for assistance in finding what they described as a dark-colored SUV with front-end damage, Newsday previously reported. Following an investigation, "the 2021 Mazda CX 5 involved in the crash" and other evidence was recovered at Foster's home, police said Tuesday in an updated release.

Foster pleaded not guilty Wednesday before Judge F. Scott Carrigan at First District Court in Central Islip, according to court records.

Richard Pellegrino, the defense attorney representing Foster, did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.