A freshman female student walking across the intersection of Forsyth Boulevard and Wallace Drive at 12:45 a.m. this past Sunday morning was struck by an eastbound vehicle traveling on Forsyth through the intersection, according to Washington University Police Department Chief Don Strom.

“[The student] was thrown up on the hood of the vehicle and fell to the ground east of the intersection,” Strom said.

The student was transferred to the hospital, where she remains in the intensive care unit.

The Clayton Police Department made an arrest in this case yesterday afternoon. At this point, the suspect is believed to be unaffiliated with the University.

“A subject came to the Clayton Police Department today and acknowledged he was responsible for the accident,” Strom said.

The prosecuting attorney is currently presenting the case to the court with a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident.

The student is a member of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) pledge class and was returning with friends from the co-ed community service fraternity’s formal, according to senior Hunter Zupnick, one of the APO pledge class coordinators.

“Right now, she is doing fine,” he said.

He emphasized that no alcohol was involved on the student’s part.

Zupnick, along with his fellow APO members, and other friends of the student have been visiting her frequently at the hospital the past two days to offer their support.

“She’s had a lot of visitors, and we’ve been staying with her just to make sure she is OK. We’ve been there pretty much all the time,” he said.

Zupnick confirmed that the student sustained several bruises and broken bones across her body but has no injuries to the head or major organs. Although her injuries are not life-threatening, they are nonetheless serious, he said.

“Obviously, everyone is grateful she is all right,” Zupnick said. “It could’ve been much worse.”

Although the student was crossing the intersection with other friends, she was the only person struck by the vehicle.

“The vehicle may have stopped along the curb briefly but then continued to leave. The driver did not stop, render aid or identify themselves,” Strom said.

“This appears to be a situation where someone knew they struck somebody, and they just continued on,” Strom added.

Washington University Police Department officers were first on the scene, although the Clayton Police Department is officially handling the case.

Clayton police were not available for comment.

Prior to the arrest, the police had obtained descriptions of the vehicle from the accounts of nearby witnesses, although there were some conflicting reports, Strom said.

A witness described the vehicle as light-colored, possibly white.

“There were some items collected at the scene that suggested that it could have been a mid-’90s Honda Accord,” Strom said.

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Tags: accident, alpha phi omega, car crash, clayton, don strom, forsyth, injury, safety, student, wallace, wupd

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 1:57 pm and is filed under News, Police Beat. You can follow any responses to this entry through this feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.