Police: Phone data, repaired Kia helped identify woman accused in hit-and-run death of Savannah man

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Chatham County prosecutors say evidence ranging from cell phone records to repairs on a suspect’s car ties 29-year-old Mikeara Gibbons to a fatal hit-and-run that killed a Savannah man in 2024.

A judge has now ruled there is enough evidence for the case to move forward to Superior Court.

During a preliminary hearing in Chatham County Recorder’s Court, Judge Crystal Harmon found probable cause on the charges and denied bond for Gibbons.

“The allegation is that there were several calls made, not one, to 911,” Harmon said in court. “No attempts, allegedly, to render any sort of aid to the alleged victim.”

Gibbons is charged with homicide by vehicle in the first degree, hit and run resulting in serious injury or death, serious injury by vehicle, tampering with evidence, and speeding for allegedly hitting and killing 38-year-old Jonathan Dover.

She was arrested in late February, nearly 17 months after the crash.

Savannah Police traffic investigator Cpl. Peter Suppa testified that the crash happened around 3:21 a.m. on Sept. 8, 2024, near West Derenne Avenue and Bull Street.

Suppa told the court the victim, Jonathan Dover, was found in the roadway with severe head trauma and other serious injuries.

He testified Dover was still alive when first responders arrived but later died on Oct. 6, 2024, in the hospital from injuries sustained in the crash.

Penelope Nesbitt, Dover’s mother, said the wait for answers has taken a toll on the entire family, and it’s not just hers thats suffering either. Both families lose in a situation like this.

“Now everybody’s family gets to suffer connected, and it doesn’t make any sense,” Nesbitt said.

Suppa testified that the driver had left before officers arrived, and investigators relied on debris from the scene and phone data to identify a suspect.

He told the court that car parts recovered from the roadway pointed to a 2011–2013 Kia Forte.

Investigators then sought cell tower data from the area during a short window around the time of the crash.

Cpl. Peter Suppa said in court, “I went through all the phone numbers… close to 1,000 phone numbers… ran them through IDI… Out of every phone number that was run through IDI… Ms. Gibbons had the only vehicle, which was a 2013 Kia Forte, white in color.”

“How do you not think about extensive injuries and the person’s blood being on your vehicle and you have to wipe it off and you have it fixed?? That’s how I feel about it. That that’s what hurts me.. just cover him up like he’s an old bum... Like who cares? Everybody’s life matters. Everyone on the road. I don’t care who it is. You can’t do that. I mean, I feel I feel horrible for everybody. It shouldn’t have happened.”

Penelope Nesbitt, Jonathan Dover's mother.

Suppa also testified Gibbons’ phone records showed 27 calls in about a 40-minute span after the crash, including calls to a sister and a boyfriend.

“Also with her cell phone data, she made 27 calls in about a 40-minute span, which tells me she was panic-calling after the collision to 3 separate numbers, including her boyfriend and sister,” Suppa testified.

According to Suppa, police later located Gibbons’ Kia months after the crash at an apartment complex.

“So when we found the vehicle months later, the windshield was replaced, the front bumper was replaced, but the hood and the roof of the vehicle were still damaged... I spoke briefly with Ms. Gibbons, because that day we also seized her car. I asked her about if she remembers anything back on September 8th, and she said she didn’t. I asked her about the damage to her vehicle. She said a tree fell on her vehicle during one of the hurricanes in 2024...And this happened at a friend’s apartment at Point Bluff at White Bluff,” said the corporal in his testimony.

The Prosecutor then asked the corporal testifying if he followed up on that claim...

“I spoke with the property manager at Point Bluff. I asked if any trees had fallen on the property during Hurricane Helene, and they said no tree had fallen, or no claims were filed, and no claims of trees falling on anybody’s car,” said the Corporal.

Suppa testified that investigators also traced the vehicle’s aftermarket windshield and learned a matching windshield was sold 5 days after the crash.

He said the glass shop owner told him the installation required extra caulking because of roof damage and that Gibbons paid in cash, so there’s no receipt.

Suppa also testified that when investigators compared parts and paint, the bumpers did not match, and the paint on the front bumper was not automotive paint, but instead spray paint, meant for wood.

“The bumpers did not match,” Suppa testified. “And the front bumper that was currently on her car, the paint was not made for a vehicle, it was made for wood… which tells me it was spray paint.”

On cross-examination, Suppa testified he did not find Gibbons at fault for causing the collision itself, and said Dover was at fault for the crash.

However, he testified that the charges against Gibbons are tied to leaving the scene and failing to render aid and provide information, and prosecutors allege she tampered with evidence by repairing the vehicle.

Nesbitt said the loss is something the family continues to carry.

“I feel, I feel horrible for everybody. It shouldn’t have happened,” she said. “I just want my boy back. I can’t have him. I’ll never see him again.”

She said there’s no do-overs when someone’s life ends. Dover leaves behind 6 children, and countless family and friends that miss him every day.

“I wouldn’t want any mother to feel this. And if you hit somebody, stop. Stop. You wouldn’t have gotten in as much trouble. So many things could be different. Just everybody, slow down. It’s not video games. No more lives. It’s over for us,” said Dover’s mother, Penelope.