Saugus woman held on $7,500 bail in fatal 2010 hit-and-run crash that killed 81-year-old Christos Agganis

By Brian R. Ballou and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Family members of the victim commented on the arrest of a young woman in the 2010 hit-and-run accident that killed Christos Agganis of Saugus. A friend of the defendant also commented. (By Brian R. Ballou,/Globe Staff)

A 24-year-old Saugus woman is facing charges in a 2010 hit-and-run accident that killed an 81-year-old man, and the evidence against her may include fragments of glass found in her car two years after the accident, authorities said today.

Christos Agganis (Family photo)

Steffany Barbanti of Saugus is facing a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal motor vehicle accident in the death of Christos Agganis, also of Saugus.

Barbanti pleaded not guilty today in Lynn District Court. She was ordered held on $7,500 cash bail. A probable cause hearing is slated for March 16 in her case.

“My client vehemently denies being inolved in this unfortunate situation,” said Barbanti’s defense attorney, Alfred Farese.

Police said Agganis was crossing Main Street on Jan. 28, 2010, heading to the Hammersmith Inn Restaurant run by his relatives -- including Peter Politis, the older man’s nephew by marriage.

Politis told the Globe in 2010 that as he looked out the restaurant window, he saw a blur of gray, heard the sound of a car crash, and rushed outside to find Agganis bleeding from his injuries.

“I just kept calling him Tio, uncle in Greek,” Politis told the Globe in 2010. “The person [driver] didn’t even stop. They just kept on going. It’s hard to believe someone would do that.”

Steffany Barbanti (Saugus Police Photo)

Agganis lived in a condo across Central Street from the restaurant, which he visited at least three times daily, and was heading over for dinner when he was struck.

A prosecutor said today that investigators were able to break the case with the help of an anonymous tip, which came in after Fox25 News did a story on the case. The tipster said Barbanti’s car had been damaged and Barbanti had been texting during the accident.

The prosecutor said a friend of Barbanti’s told police that Barbanti told her that she had hit someone with her car. The friend told police that she pleaded with Barbanti to go back to the scene, but Barbanti didn’t.

Police impounded the car on Friday and are investigating glass fragments they found inside the car, apparently left behind when a glass company fixed the broken glass in the car, to see if they match fragments recovered from Agganis’s clothing after the accident, the prosecutor said.

Farese, the defense attorney, said the arrest was the result of “sensationalism” by the media. He said that witnesses had described a dark-colored, possibly black SUV leaving the scene, but Barbanti’s SUV is white.

John R. Ellement of the Globe staff contributed to this report.