Car hits student, flees

A Truman student was hit by a car in a hit-and-run early Wednesday morning at the intersection of Marion and Illinois Street.

Junior Matt Ziegler was walking from The Square to his girlfriend's house on Green Street when he was hit from behind. He said he was walking across the parking lot of the Ice House because it was a short cut.

"I kind of noticed that there was a car about to hit me, so I looked back real quick," Ziegler said. "It hit me right in the back of my leg. I fell back on the hood of the car and rolled over onto the pavement."

He said as soon as he hit the pavement, the car drove off without even stopping to help him or check if he was all right.

"I thought someone was trying to kill me at first," Ziegler said. "But then after it happened, I was filled with rage. I got up almost as soon as it happened and started yelling."

He said the car drove down Green Street. It drove too fast for him to notice the license plate number, but said it was a small white Ford. He also said he was alone when it happened and no one else saw the accident.

Ziegler said he then called his girlfriend to tell her what had happened and walked to her place. He said that he did not feel any blood so he knew that his injuries were not very serious, but when he got to his girlfriend's house, they decided to go to the hospital.

"From her house, I called the police and told them what happened," Ziegler said. "The Kirksville police officer met me at the hospital. … I just turned in a statement the other day."

Ziegler said he was at the hospital past 2:30 a.m. for tests, including an MRI and X-rays to make sure that there were no head injuries or broken bones.

He said the only noticeable injury he had was to his eye, which was swollen for about two days, and that he had to wear an eye patch. He also said that he scraped his right leg and his whole body was sore.

"I don't plan on suing or pressing any kind of charges if they find the person," Ziegler said. "I mean, it was more or less an accident, they could not have helped it. … But I am mad that they drove off."

Sgt. Steve Farnsworth of the Kirksville Police Department, said that in the 21 years he has been with the department, he has not seen many hit-and-run accidents involving a pedestrian.

"We may have one or two a year," Farnsworth said. "One thing you see with pedestrians is that if someone is hurt, the compelling side is to stop and help."

Farnsworth said that in Ziegler's case, police were fortunate enough to get a video of the accident, because it happened on private property.

"The video is not high quality and you cannot get a license plate," Farnsworth said. "But we have a description from the video, plus the description of the vehicle according to the victim."

Farnsworth said the police suspect the driver of the car was under the influence of alcohol because of the way he took a sharp turn when he left.

If the hit-and-run driver was found, he/she would be charged with a felony, Farnsworth said, and depending on the severity of Ziegler's injuries, it would be up to the prosecutor to determine which charges to press.

Sgt. Chad Whittom of the Department of Public Safety said DPS has not been notified about Ziegler's accident and that the Kirksville police were investigating his case.

"We work with several vehicle accidents every year," Whittom said. "The majority have been minor. … A lot of them happen in parking lots so they are relatively low speed."

Whittom said the majority of the cases DPS deals with involve students, and in most vehicle accidents where both parties stay and report the accident, there is no campus policy that punishes the students involved. However, in a hit-and-run accident, the campus might take action.

"Hit-and-runs we pursue very vigorously," Whittom said. "If we find the person we send the report to the county prosecutor to file state charges for criminal violation. If the person involved was a student we also have the option of sending [a report] to the Dean of Students to pursue through the University Student Conduct Code."

Whittom said DPS does a lot of traffic enforcement in the area partially because of the high amount of pedestrians. He also said both pedestrians and drivers need to be aware of their surroundings to avoid such traffic accidents.

If anyone has information about the incident, they can call KPD at 660-785-6945.